Ringing in the new year is an incredibly symbolic celebration. It is a time of reflection on the past year and hope for the coming one. It is this intense hope for the future that inspires the majority of the symbolism associated with the New Years In the South, a lot of the symbolism revolves around the New Year’s Day dinner, or as the tradition goes in Cumberland County the New Year’s Black-eyedPea Dinner, which is hosted by Lee Warren, Ed Branis and Billie West.

The Black-eyed Pea Dinner is a long-held tradition in the area that brings the community together for a great meal and friendship.

“This is our 21st annual event. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s the sheriff at the time, Ottis Jones, and his friend, a local attorney named Willis Brown, both had New Year’s Day Black-eyed Pea Dinners,” explained Lee Warren, the Cumberland County Registrar o Deeds. “They got together and talked about it and decided to join together and had the event at the coliseum.

“I remember attending these dinners in the ‘70s. Otis Jones died in 1987 or 1988 and when he died, the event died with him. In 1993, I was talking with my father and my friend, Owen Spears, who was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, and my dad, said, ‘Why don’t you guys revive the Black-eyed Pea Dinner?’“ recalled Warren. “We thought it was a good idea, so we revived it for the first time in 1993. In 1996, Owen had a career change and Ed Grannis, the district attorney, came on. Ed retired three years ago and Billie West is the new district attorney. Now, all three of us put on the event.”

One can expect very traditional southern fair at the New Year’s Day Black-eyed Pea Dinner. “Black-eyedpeas, collard greens, candied yams and barbeque. It is traditional southern New Year’s day fare,” said Warren.

Traditionally, the Black-eyed peas represent coin money and collard greens represent paper money. Eating them expresses a wish for prosperity in the coming year. The meal is prepared by professionals each year.

The Black-eyed Pea Dinner is an extremely popular event. Attendance is usually about 3,000 people. This year, even more people are expected to attend. It can be difficult to plan for a variance of around 200 - 300 people, but Warren tirelessly works each year to deliver an incredible event. The most rewarding aspect for him is, “renewing old friendships and seeing people year after year.”

“Many people come every year. It has become a good tradition for Cumberland County, and I think people look forward to it.,” he said.

The dinner is completely free to the public. It takes place at the Crown Coliseum Expo Building. The Expo Building is located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. The dinner is on New Years Day from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Bring your friends and family out and spend the first day of the new year with your neighbors.

Photo: The Black-eyed Pea Dinner feeds about 3,000 each year.

As 2014 races to a close, many in the community are more than ready to wish it farewell and welcome what we hope will be a better, more peaceful, more prosperous New Year. What better way to welcome that New Year than with a celebration with friends and family. If you aren’t the stay at home and celebrate type, you can always head downtown for a plethora of opportunities to have fun.

The Hilltop House is known not only for its history but for its delicious meals. Located in the historic Haymount district, it is an elegant house full of history and beauty. It was built in the early 1900s for the Kelly family as their home and business. Since then, it has transitioned to a functioning modern restaurant while maintaining the same beauty and charm as the original home. The rooms have been redecorated but the original architecture is maintained and honored.

The cuisine is described as new southern with classic French influences. This combination brings elegance and creativity to very traditional and familiar foods. The Executive Chefs are Beth Shearin-Smith, the owner, and Mathew Graham. Graham has worked at the restaurant for many years and is renowned for his cheesecake. On Dec. 31, the restaurant is hosting a New Year’s Eve Celebration from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. It is the perfect opportunity for a romantic and relaxing dinner before enjoying the countdown to the New Year. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is unparalleled. For more information, visit http://www.hilltophousenc.com or call 484-6699. The Hilltop House is located at 1240 Fort Bragg Road.

If you are looking to party until the cows come home, you may want to check out the party at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux. You can countdown the New Year with your closest friends and family. Enjoy the music stylings of DJ Tommy King, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and sweets, festive party favors, prize giveaways and champagne toast at midnight!

If you are feeling extra festive, you can take advantage of special room rates and just take a short elevator ride upstairs after the party to your room, and the next morning you can have breakfast in the cafe. Admission to the party is $35 per person. A per couple price of $150 includes not only the party but also your room for the night.

At Pierro’s, you can enjoy a great New Year’s Even Dinner for just $59 a couple, which includes an appetizer, two salads, two entrees, two beverages and a shared dessert. After you savor a delicious dinner, you can party the night away at the Sky Lounge’s New Year’s Eve Bash. Your dinner reservation covers the cost of the ticket to the bash as well. For reservations, call 910-678-8885.

You can also join your friends at Huske Hardware House to countdown the New Year. For the past several years, Huske has been the place to be when the clock strikes midnight, and this year the staff hopes you will join them for their big celebration. It all begins on Wednesday, Dec. 31, with a live deejay, drink specials, party favors, dancing and live footage from Times Square. This is one party you don’t want to miss!

At Sky View, 121 Hay Street, you can join A Night of Excellence New Years Eve Bash, which includes DJ Diggem Down, DJ Elixer, DJ Slim and others. The party includes two floors of fun, eight Luxury VIP Booths, six DJs in one building, a Mega Money Ball Drop at midnight. It’s guaranteed to be an unforgettable night of fun. For tickets and information, visit http://clubzone.com/events/a-night-of-excellence-new-years-eve-bash.

Another fantastic way to celebrate the New Year is with a Fayetteville FireAntz game. On Dec. 31, the hockey team plays against the Huntsville Havoc in the first of three games to determine the winner of the Hooters Cup. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Crown Coliseum located at 1960 Coliseum Dr. After a rousing game of minor league hockey, the FireAntz will host a New Year’s Celebration Party. Tickets are $14 and $5 for kids. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For more information visit http://crowncomplexnc.com/events/fayetteville-fireantz-vs-huntsville-havoc-2/.

Kwanzaa was started in 1966 by Maulana Karenga on the west coast. It is a cultural family and community celebration of African American heritage celebrated by millions in the world and that is why the Umoja Group presents their celebration of Kwanzaa on Saturday, Dec. 27 from 5-8 pm at Smith Recreation Center.

“Everyone is supposed to bring a favorite dish this year such as a casserole or a jug of tea,” said Dorothy Fielder, director of the Umoja Group. “This celebration is important to have because African-American children do not know their history, greatness or positive aspects of black life and it is important that they know their value.” Fielder added that they are trying to pass on what they do to the younger generation so that it will continue when they retire or die.

Kwanzaa was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African culture and historical heritage. It has 7 principles and they are things that a person can live by. The principles are in the Swahili language and contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture among African Americans. There is a traditionally established way of celebrating Kwanzaa and it is celebrated on December 26 through January 1.

“There will be a candlelight ceremony in which 7 children will come up and say a principle and mention a hero of theirs that represents that principle,” said Fielder. “Then we will have the parade of kings and queens.” Fielder added that this year they are asking everyone to read about one of the pharaohs and they are using the reference of National Geographic’s February 2008 issue that tells about the different black pharaohs of Egypt. “I think that it is important because our young people need to know that we came from kings and queens and we can have the same kinds of values that they had,” said Felder. “Those values were self-determination, cooperative work and economics.”

There will be drummers and a dance group for entertainment. The Umoja Group will accept donations for Operation Blessings because there is a need for coats, hats, gloves and nonperishable food items. The items can be dropped off at the Smith Recreation Center. The organization encourages young people to continue their education by awarding a scholarship to a graduating senior from E. E. Smith High School for college.

“This is a time for fellowship and getting to know more about our heritage,” said Fielder. “We welcome everyone to come out and participate in this celebration.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 483-6152.

Photo: Kwanzaa isn’t intended to replace Christmas or other religious holidays, but rather complement them in a season full of ancient traditions and celebration. 

Karla Allen and Paula Sorie met when they both worked at MJ Soffee. Eventually, they both left the company to pursue their fortunes elsewhere but the two women stayed in touch.

“Paula called me out of the blue one day with an idea,” said Allen. “We met and she said ‘I want to do a local magazine with a focus on women.’ We talked for several hours that day.”

Women’s View hit the streets in August 2007. For more than seven years, Allen and Sorie published the monthly magazine hoping to inspire, inform and engage the women in the greater Fayetteville area.

“It’s always been a work in progress,” said Allen. “It’s literally been a two-woman show all this time. It was me and Paula doing the graphics, the layout, the editorial, the marketing, the distribution — all of it. And it’s been good. But we are ready to take it to the next level.”

Covering everything from healthy living to parenting, education and professional issues, Women’s View is set to refocus and really showcase what the Fayetteville area has to offer women. The magazine was previously delivered to seven counties, but starting in January 2015, the focus of the publication is significantly and intentionally being narrowed to the women of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and Fort Bragg.

“In 2015, one of the biggest changes is that we are going to focus on women in the community who have made an impact. From volunteers to executives, it may not always be high-profile people, but there are so many wonderful women who give selflessly to the community. We really want to tell their stories here,” said Allen.

Along with the change in focus, the publication will now be known as Fayetteville’s Women’s View. The content, color and size will all be the same, although readers may see some slight changes.

“After all, why reinvent the wheel?” said Allen. “We are not going to over-tweak what has already been successful. We want to keep the quality of our content. We are adding a calendar of events. It won’t be focused on all events in community, though. It will be focused on women’s events. We have a legal section we are bringing back, too. We are also adding some fun new features like a horoscope section and a puzzle section.”

The website will see some updating, too. After almost eight years, Allen said it is time for a new look. Check in after the New Year to see what changes are in store.

“We want to put out a quality product that women can pick up, go through and recognize other women in our community as columnists and positive forces working for the greater good. And we want women to feel good about what they pick up to read and to share it with others in the community.”

Find out more about Fayetteville’s Women’s View at http://womensviewnc.com.

Wishes of Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men

Having had surgery recently, I’ve spent much of the past two weeks being still, which is very unuusual for me. During this time, I‘ve had time to catch up on news — other than that happening in Fayetteville. And what I have seen has made me sad.

Religious fanatics with murderous intent are running rampant in the Middle East and throughout the world. Russia is reemerging as a threat to democracy with encroachments in Georgia and the Ukraine. North Koreans are jailed or killed for watching television. In Africa, school girls are raped and sold into hellish marriages because they are Christian and in Pakistan, children are shot dead — just because.

And that doesn’t even begin to address the problems in America. Racial tensions are ripping through the fabric of our democracy. Racial riots are only tempered by unity marches, where I’m really not sure the message is unity. A young woman is burned alive, while young teens shoot each other down in the streets for nothing more than “street cred.” It’s enough to make you lose heart, even lose faith.

Thinking about the evil that is pervasive in our world, I thought back to one of my early political memories. It dates back to the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Carter, who was facing Christmas with the hostages still in Iran and the end of his presidency drawing near, gave a press conference. To be sure, Carter didn’t have a lot to be hopeful for at the time, and from the start of his press conference, that was pretty obvious as he also bemoaned the evil in the world. As a child, I found it very depressing, but then something changed, and he finished his speech not with a voice of doom, but rather with one of hope. And that message has stayed with me. It has impacted my life many times over the years when I have begun to lose faith in my fellow man. It was the story of a simple Christmas carol, and I feel it only fitting that I share it with you now.

Written by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1863, this carol’s genesis came from the death of Longfellow’s wife in an accidental house fire coupled with his son’s (Charles Appleton Longfellow) decision to run away and join the Union Army in March of that year. As Christmas drew near, the elder Longfellow received word that his son had been gravely injured in the Virginia Battle of New Hope Church.

Looking at the world around him and the tragedy that made up his life, Longfellow could have lost hope. Instead, he turned to his art to try and make some sense of the evil around him, and he penned this carol that has continued to encourage and remind us that all is not lost.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth,
good-will to men!

Then from each black,
accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth,
good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth,
good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth,
good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth,
good-will to men.”

This blessed Christmas season, I wish you peace, but more importantly I wish you hope. Merry Christmas!

Warren Buffet, the “Oracle from Omaha,” is considered one of the most successful investors in history. Yet while the investment world may seem complex, Mr. Buffet’s advice is actually pretty simple. Here are a few Buffet quotes, along with some suggestions on putting them to use:

“Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”

Essentially, this means you should look for good investment vehicles whose price may have dropped. A “bear” market tends to drag down many stocks — even those with strong fundamentals and favorable prospects. These stocks might then be considered “bargains.” One way to determine whether a stock is “expensive” or “cheap” is by looking at its price-to-earnings ratio (P/E). For example, if Company “A” has a share price of $20 and earnings per share of $4, then it has a P/E of 5. On the other hand, if Company “B” has the same share price of $20, but has earnings per share of $2, its P/E would be 10. So it would be considered more expensive than Company “A.” Be aware, though, that the P/E ratio works better as a measure of cost when you are comparing two companies in the same industry.

“Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.”

Be prepared to own quality stocks for the long term; over time, your confidence may be rewarded. On the other hand, if an investment is not of high quality, its flaws will be revealed over the years.

“If investors insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.”

Trying to “time” the market — that is, attempting to buy when prices are low and sell when prices are high — is a difficult task.

Too many people do just the opposite: They try to “cut their losses” by selling when the market is down and then go after the “hot” investment whose price may already be as high as it’s going to go. Mr. Buffet clearly is not in favor of a market timing approach, and those who try to do it, he says, are probably better off by going against the crowd. Keep in mind, though, that even when holding investments rather than trying to time the market, investing in equities does involve risk, including potential loss of principal.

“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”

When should you sell good investments? Never, according to Mr. Buffet. And while this endless holding period may not be possible for all of us, you get the idea: the longer you keep a good investment, the better off you may be when you do sell.

“The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money.”

The lesson here? Be an investor, not a speculator. A long run-up in the market can increase your wealth, but it may also make you prone to risky behavior if you think that all your investments will rise indefinitely.

As an investor, you may well want to consider Mr. Buffet’s ideas— after all, they’ve sure worked well for him.

Photo: Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha

Manna Church is an exceptionally large church with 8,500 members and five locations. However, the leadership there still manages to create an engaging and personal environment to grow spiritually and worship God among friends. Manna Church is also known for being creative in their services. They bring a fresh passion and joy to a rich religious tradition.

New this year is the Christmas Eve service. Manna Church has hosted Christmas Eve Services every year, of course. This year it will be accompanied by the new album All is Calm. “We have been working on the album since 2013. At first, the album wasn’t intended for the service but as we got closer we thought, wouldn’t it be great if we finished the album and used it to support a service,” said Chris Fletcher, the creative director and worship pastor at Manna Church’s Cliffdale site.

The album is traditional Christmas music that is a product of the five campus worship leaders who both sing and play instruments. Fletcher said, “They are our own arrangements, but we put our own spin on them. They are very stripped down renditions. Manna tends towards more modern and contemporary styles but this isn’t typical for Manna. There won’t be any electric guitars on stage, it will be more acoustic. They are stripped down and keep to the essence of the song but we make it calmer with a traditional feel.”

All five locations of Manna Church will host the Christmas Eve “All is Calm” service. While the album itself is a fantastic celebration of the holiday season, when it is used to support a beautiful Christmas Eve service the experience is deeply moving and uniquely peaceful. “Amidst the Christmas season when we sing all these songs like “Silent Night” I can’t think of a Christmas season when I was well rested. It has turned into a busy and restless season, so we wanted our service to center on calmness and the beautiful gift that has been given. This is a more traditional service, not really what is expected from Manna,” Fletcher explained.

All of the work that these passionate people put into special services and albums is a labor of love and for Fletcher it is supremely rewarding, “Seeing people take something that I helped with creatively and use it to give worship is very rewarding. None of the worship leaders are making a dime from this; it all goes to support Manna. To see people get behind the music and sing and give thanks and give him (God) the praise he deserves in this time and make that connection is most rewarding.”

Manna is also having a series of Christmas movie themed services called Christmas at the Movies. This is a popular series of services that take classic Christmas movies and use them to teach lessons. They play clips of the movies and then discuss the truths that they demonstrate.

The All is Calm Christmas Eve service is on Dec. 24, at the Cliffdale Site on 5117 Cliffdale Rd. at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. The Hope Mills site located at 3744 Legion Rd will have one service at 5 p.m. The Executive Place site located at 630 Executive Place will have a service at 5p.m., and the Methodist University site in Reeves Auditorium at 5400 Ramsey St. on the Methodist University campus will also have one service at 5p.m. For more information visit www.mannachurch.org or call 910-867-9151.

Ryan’s Reindeer Run started as a way to celebrate the life of Ryan Kishbaugh, an incredible young man who lost his battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2003. He was 18 years old. Ryan was an excellent student, an inspiring athlete and an exemplary volunteer. He celebrated life every day and that is something Roberta Humphries, Ryan’s mom and the organizer of Ryan’s Reindeer Run, hopes people will do more often. This year the run falls on Dec. 20.

Ryan loved to run. In fact, he wrote a book called Run Because You Can – My Personal Race with Cancer. The book shares his thoughts and experiences as he battled cancer. So Ryan’s Reindeer Run is indeed the perfect way to celebrate his life.

“I think Ryan would have had a lot of fun with this event. He loved the holidays and Christmas. I think he would have been amazed at the number of people that come out for it,” said Humphries. “Last year, more than 1,000 people registered to run.”

Come ready to run, to laugh and to have fun. From reindeer antlers to ugly sweaters Humphries encourages runners to come in costume and enjoy the festive atmosphere while of the race. Some of the costume award categories include best male costume, best female costume, best couple and best group. There is even an award for best decorated stroller.

“We have a few more awards this year,” said Humphries. “One of them is for best holiday sweater.”

Through the years, Humphries has seen some interesting costumes. “One of my favorite memories of the race was watching Emmy Barbaro. She ran the race wearing a box. She was dressed as a Christmas gift and her enthusiasm was inspiring. She was so excited,” said Humphries. “One year the Keener family — they win almost every year for their creative costumes — dressed as packages and had tags on their heads that said ‘To: Ryan.’ They have done some really fun costumes. One year they came as a nativity scene.”

Santa Claus will be at the run. If people want to get photos with Santa they can. This is truly a family-friendly event. Families can even register to compete in the family category.

Proceeds from the run benefit the The Ryan P. Kishbaugh Memorial Foundation, which in turn supports many organizations in the community. In the past the foundation has supported Friends of the Cancer Center at Cape Fear Valley, Make a Wish foundation, The Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Family Support Program, The Care Clinic, Better Health, the Child Advocacy Center, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Voices of the Heart and I always do a writing prize for a senior at Fayetteville Academy.

“We’ve given away more than $120,000 since we started this nine years ago,” said Humphries.

Prizes for the race are awarded to the top overall male and female finisher and the top three male and female finishers in the following age divisions: under 13, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and over. All participants under the age of 13 receive a finisher’s award. Prizes are also awarded to the top three pet finishers and their owners, top three family finishers, best costumed runners and top three strollers, runners and best decorated strollers.

A team trophy is presented to the school, club or organization with the largest number of participants. When registering, include the name of the organization on the entry form. There must be a minimum of 10 entries under a team name to be considered a group. The award is not based on time but on the number of registrants. Humphries noted that this is a popular category because many local schools register teams and friends that are home for the holidays often register and run as teams, too.

Registration fees are: Individual Runner/Walker: $25.00, after December 1: $30.00; Under 13 Runner/Walker: $15.00, after December 1: $20.00 ; Children in strollers no charge.

Family Entry: $75.00, after December 1: $90. The family entry includes four T-shirts. Two additional family members may register for $20 each. Family registrants are not eligible for individual prizes but will be eligible for the family prize. Please complete a separate registration form for each participating family member. (Family entry must be a minimum of three runners and maximum of six runners who are of the same family, strollers not included in the aggregate time.)

Dogs on leashes are allowed but must be controlled at all times and owners are responsible for cleaning up after their dogs. Runners with dogs may be asked to leave if the dogs are causing a disturbance. Walkers, noncompetitive runners with dogs and strollers are requested to start in the back of the group.

“The T-shirts are red and the race bags are green this year, so it is very festive,” said Humphries. “I recommend that people register early because the race is limited to 1,000 runners. That is the number of people that can run and still have this be a fun and safe race.”

While there is a big focus on having fun and enjoying the day Humphries noted that competitive runners will enjoy the challenging course. “The course is difficult by design,” said Humphries. “I want people to have fun but life is challenging at times, too. That is what the challenging course represents.”

Register at active.com or to find out more about the race, and to learn more about Ryan, visit http://www.ryansreindeerrun.com.

Photos: Ryan’s Reindeer Run celebrates the life of Ryan Patrick Kishbaugh. 

“The Herdman’s were the worst kids in the whole history of the world...”

After 23 years of presenting The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre continues to touch audiences with the spirit of the Christmas season.

Year after year, hundreds of children vie for their chance to grace the stage as Beth, Glady’s, Charlie, Imogene and even the tiniest baby angel or shepherd, wearing his father’s bathrobe. And each year, proud parents and theatre goers sit in the audi ence shedding tears, not just for delight of their own children, but for the touching moment when Imogene Herdman and her clan begin to fully understand the meaning of Christmas.

The story of the Herdman family is not a new one. In fact, the idea of a poor family without manners who bullies other children and infiltrates the church Christmas pageant simply for cookies and candy, is all too common in this day in time.

No one in the church, including the minister, wants to give the Herdmans a chance to be a part of the annual Christmas pageant. Reluctantly, Grace Bradley, first time director of the pageant, assigns the lead roles of Mary, Joseph, the Wisemen and the Angel of the Lord to the Herdman clan. Mischief soon befalls. The children never get through one full rehearsal of the pageant due to the Herdman’s questions about the Bible, “What are the wadded up clothes?”

“They just put Jesus in a feed box! Where was the child welfare?” and the group’s cigar-smoking shenanigans that leads to a small fire at the church.

When all is said and done, the spirit of Christmas overcomes the family as well as church members and pageant participants as they watch a very touching transformation.

As an audience member in Saturday’s matinee performance, I too, shed tears as I watched the story unfold. BCPE has become a “foot in the door” to theatre for many local children. Some we have even watched grow up in aother productions at the CFRT, after they’ve gotten their first taste of the stage through BCPE. It’s always a pleasure to watch children deliver their first lines on our local stage and others shine from their adorable portrayals of these characters.

One shining star in this performance was Gladys Herdman, played by Savannah Reese Toman. When performed well, the character of Gladys should steal the show with her rants of “Shazam!” and impersonation of the “Mighty Marvo” comic book character. Savannah was no exception. She delivered each of her lines with precision and meaning. She was animated and adorable and even at such a young age, she seemed to really understand everything she said.

My only disappointment with BCPE? The CFRT continues to videotape the part of Mrs. Armstrong. This character, written in the script as an onstage character, used to be performed LIVE by some of the great local female comedians of Fayetteville — the late Ann Tosco who played the original Mrs. Armstrong and the great Bo Thorp. Tosco was originally wheeled around the stage in a hospital bed which helped build the intimacy of the play and kept the humorous character live. While Thorp still plays the character on screen, I believe the CFRT misses some great laughs from Armstrong (Thorp) by placing her on video, which the audience is lead to perceive as “Facetime” via an iphone. In a world where everything seems to be changing so fast and technology is everywhere, can’t we just keep some things traditional? It would be nice, in this writer’s opinion, to forego the cellphones and video on stage and take the audience back to a time where everything was a little slower and a little more intimate.

Even with that said, I would be remiss if I did not tell you, if you are looking for a chance to spend an hour of quality time with your family, take them to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. There is no doubt if you see it once, you will make it a part of your family’s Christmas traditions.

Sanderson Farms: Elected Officials Should Dread the Red

No doubt about it, the Fayetteville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Alliance have put out a call to action to rally the residents of Cumberland County in support of Sanderson Farms, a highly respected and well-managed chicken processing plant that wants to locate in our community.

Good jobs? Good corporate citizens? What’s not to like? Why a call to action? As has been debated over the past several months, this financially sound and nationally recognized poultry business doesn’t suit several hundred local residents for a plethora of reasons and has them seeing red.

And that’s okay. This is America and they have every right to voice their opinions; however, they do not have the right to their own facts, which do not jibe with all of the national reports and information concerning the plant.

I applaud the Chamber of Commerce and all of the local and statewide agencies that have rallied to bring jobs and economic prosperity to Cumberland County. I think it is time to give credit where credit is due.

This isn’t just any chicken plant. It is Sanderson Farms, the third largest – and most respected chicken producer inAmerica. Sanderson Farms, a corporation that was named in Forbes Magazine’s “100 Most Trusted Companies.” This already beats the hell out of the bogus $247 million E-85 ethanol plant that was presented several years ago to Cumberland County elected officials and endorsed and promoted by a very small special-interest group. That project had everyone – including our elected officials – giddy about the prospect.

Thankfully, that development never happened. Why?Information: factual and honest information. Unfortunately, that same type of factual information that is being presented to inform the community about Sanderson Farms is being lost in the cacophony of faulty information. The difference being that the special interest group is more vocal and its motives and bias are not as transparent, but its rallying call – the wearing of red shirts is.

What is also different this time around is the fact that the city, county and Chamber of Commerce have done their due diligence. Please, read the reports, which were commissioned by the City of Fayetteville and are now posted online. These reports represent independent third party perspectives on the economic, social and environmental impacts of this project. Read them at: www.sandersonfacts.com/reports/Dr.%20Neff-Sharum%20Sanderson%20Farms

www.sandersonfacts.com/reports/Dr.%20Frederick%20Environmental%20Rev

 www.sandersonfacts.com/reports/EMSI%20Fayetteville%20Impact%20Report

I also urge our city and county elected officials to read them carefully. There seems to be a small thread of confusion and potential hypocrisy developing over the Sanderson Farms issue where some elected officials are concerned based on what I am hearing from other City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents. They brought it to my attention, although it is a matter of public record that the main concerns voiced by city and county residents in recent public hearings are community crime, unemployment, homelessness and education. With that in mind, how can any elected official be opposed to the Sanderson Farms opportunity unless they are vying more for money and votes rather than concerning themselves with the quality of life and welfare of tens of thousands residents?

Think about it.

How can you say you are against crime and not support 1,100 job opportunities? How can you pledge to decrease homelessness and not provide people with a means to affordable housing?  How can you say you want to increase the quality of life of residents and deny them access to full-time employment with health benefits?

I know how politics work. But, at some juncture, the voice of reason, responsibility, compassion, common sense and a sense of decency should trump all other motives.

 Who are we (or they) to thumb our noses at 1,100 jobs, a decent hourly wage of $11 an hour, a capital investment of $134 million and utilizing a county-owned business park (Cedar Creek Business Center) that Cumberland County taxpayers paid for nearly 15 years ago?

In closing, let me say I respect those who are against Sanderson Farms. It is their right. I will (and have) provide the editorial space for this topic to be debated. However, concerning this issue, all eyes of this community should be on our elected officials. The Sanderson Farms project will define their true intentions, loyalty, integrity, intestinal fortitude and commitment to the residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. A vote for Sanderson Farms will mean that these elected officials understand: 

1. The correlation between crime and unemployment.

2. The pro and con effects of the federal dollar on our community.

3. The need and priority of diversifying our local economy.

4. The impact of the potential loss of the 440th Airlift Wing and 1,200 jobs.

5. The potential loss of the U.S. Postal Service sorting facility (300+ jobs)

6. That another BRAC could potentially cost us thousands of Fort Bragg jobs.

7. The fact that 80 percent of our elementary-aged school children are on free or reduced lunch programs.

This is my personal call to action to all of our readers. It doesn’t make any difference what side of the issue you are on as long as you are armed with factual information. Contact your elected official and let them hear your perspectives. Start the dialog.

However, if you believe that the Sanderson Farms project has merit and that the addition of jobs and the ongoing capital investment will have a positive impact on the greater good of Cumberland County, let your elected officials know. We cannot be silent on this issue nor can we allow our elected officials to stymy and forfeit the futures of generations to come. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Students at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) returned to campus this fall to find the newly redesigned Student Learning Center. Many changes have taken place at the Center since July 2014. Formerly known as the Success Center, the Student Learning Center opened with a renewed focus and concentration on student success and outcomes. The Center’s 300 percent increase in enrollment is a result, in large part, of the strong support and commitment by faculty and staff and the focus on maintaining a customer friendly environment.

The Center has undergone some significant changes instituted throughout the fall semester including hiring a new director to focus on all operations, optimizing the hours of operation and training the Center’s staff as certified tutors. As Director of FTCC’s Library Services, I also took on (in October) the responsibility of Director of the Student Learning Center. As recently as November, the Center closed so that staff members could receive training through the National Tutoring Association (NTA), with all Center staff members achieving certification. The Center, as an entity, plans to complete the NTA certification process throughout the spring 2015 semester. New hours of operation for the Center were adjusted to provide more instructional assistance, particularly during peak times for students. New hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Center currently employs nine tutors who assist students who have questions about coursework or who need a better understanding about learning concepts. Along with the relaxed learning environment, students appreciate the assistance they receive — available without an appointment. The overall goal of the Center is to assist students in ways that lead and encourage them to become independent learners.

The mission of the Student Learning Center is to provide supplemental instruction and resources to FTCC students to help them succeed academically. We provide students individualized and/or small-group instruction covering a wide range of subjects, such as English, mathematics, science, and business-related courses, such as accounting.

The Center’s tutors guide students in the use of available learning resources. Examples of these resources include course-specific computer software, audiovisual aids, print materials, the SmarThinking online tutoring service (which provides 24/7 tutoring for all students), and daily workshops on academic topics across the various curriculum programs offered at FTCC.

Beginning in January 2015, the Center will open three additional subject-specific centers: Math Center, Science Center, and Writing and Communication Center. These three additional Centers will be located adjacent to the Student Learning Center within the Harry F. Shaw Virtual College Center (VCC), Rooms 231-233.

FTCC wants students’ academic experiences to be both enjoyable and successful. FTCC students entering the newly redesigned Student Learning Center will be greeted in a friendly, welcoming environment by a Student Learning Center tutor who is equipped through professional certification, engaged through a desire and love for teaching, and focused on helping students achieve success and complete their programs of study. Visit FTCC soon to learn how you can succeed!

Photo: Formerly known as the Success Center, the Student Learning Center opened with a renewed focus and concentration on student success and outcomes. 

If someone had asked me 20 years ago about a university’s bandwidth, I would have thought they were asking about the size of our marching band. Today, this question has a far different meaning, relating to the width of a range of frequencies or to the rate of data transfer. Internet connectivity and speed are big issues on college campuses.

Increasing a university’s bandwidth requires significant resources. Students enter college today with an average of seven electronic devices (after the holidays it may be as many as 10), each requiring a certain amount of capacity to receive and send data. Consequently, we are regularly changing and upgrading our infrastructure to improve the user’s experience. We are committed to “delivering the gold” with technology and we are making great progress in an ever-changing and increasingly demanding environment.

It is amazing how our vocabulary expands to embrace new terminology as our environment expands to embrace new technology. “Increasing your bandwidth” may also refer to the resources required to respond to a need. In other words, a university’s capacity to meet the needs of students. I guess in dealing with technology, it would be a university’s bandwidth to meet its bandwidth! Again, MU has expanded programs and facilities to maximize student potential. After all, that’s the definition of a university that will never go out of style.

Now I want to go back to my original definition. I am increasingly asked about the MU Marching Monarchs, our marching band, which is gaining recognition for their talent and gaining in size, or “band width.” Most recently, I was proud of these students as they represented Methodist in the Veterans Day Parade in Fayetteville. So, whether it’s our ability to transfer data or musical performance, we are about maximizing the capacity of our students to benefit from a Methodist University experience. And thanks to our donors and as a strategic priority of the University, we are assigning more resources to expand our band width.

It may be apparent to the reader that when it pertains to the modern definition of bandwidth this President is out of his comfort zone. However, you can rest assured that I understand the investment required to meet our students’ needs, technology and otherwise, and to continue to build an exceptional marching band. Bottom line, the best universities are about increasing students’ bandwidths, thus enabling them to get the most out of their experience. And no university does this better than Methodist.

What’s your bandwidth? I challenge our students and each of us to expand our definition with the times and in doing so, broaden our horizons. That’s the fundamental mission of our University.

Photo: Whether it’s the ability to transfer data or musical performance, we are about maximizing the capacity of our students to benefit from a Methodist University experience. 

Since 1999, the Rotary Clubs of Fayetteville have treated the community to a Christmas parade each December. Calls go out to schools, service organizations, businesses and more and the community comes together to celebrate. On the big day, spectators line the streets to enjoy the many floats, bands and dignitaries as they march through downtown Fayetteville. On Dec. 13, at 11 a.m., the fun begins.

With 100 or so entries, there will be plenty to see at this year’s parade. Bands, beauty queens, and civic organizations are just a few of the groups to look for on parade day. Pamela Chan helps with the parade and is looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces as the different floats move through downtown.

“We have a new sponsor this year, Chick-fil-A. We are excited about having their support,” said Chan. “There are a lot of marching bands this year, too. There is also a homemade float by Garner United Methodist Church that features a walking nativity scene.”

Another group that is a lot of fun is the Sudan Shriners. “A couple of Sudan Suits and Sudan Pirates are participating this year. The suits will be on Segways and the pirates have their own ship.”

The theme for the 2014 Rotary Christmas Parade is: The Children of Fayetteville and Cumberland County – our future leaders. While most parades have a Grand Marshall, that is not the case this year. Instead, local youth will share the prestigious role. “We have three floats this year that will have children on them,” said Chan. The parade organizers reached out to Cumberland County Schools and asked for a representative from every elementary, middle and high school.

Everyone’s favorite elf, Santa, will be there, too.

It’s a fun day and a big event but that also means a lot of preparation downtown. Streets will be blocked to accommodate the parade and its many participants. The parade starts on Person Street, goes around the Market House and up Hay Street and ends at the train station. With a little preparation, getting to the parade on time and enjoying the festivities should be a snap. Chan recommends checking the weather ahead of time, dressing appropriately and adding a little extra time to find parking and to accommodate traffic.

The motto of Rotary is “service above self.” And that is exactly what this parade is about. It is a community service project that the Rotary Clubs of Fayetteville take on for the sole purpose of bringing Joy to the community. There is no fundraising or ulterior motives, just good fun for the community. Currently, there are three Rotary Clubs in Fayetteville with a combined membership of about 120 people. Rotary is an international organization that seeks to “provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.”

This is the perfect time of year to celebrate peace and goodwill. And downtown Fayetteville is a great place to do that. Come enjoy the parade, grab lunch, do some Christmas shopping and check out the local art exhibits.

The Rotary Christmas Parade is set to last about two and a half hours. It starts at 11 a.m. Find out more about the parade at http://www.rotarychristmasparade.com

Photos: Don’t miss a chance to see everyone’s favorite elf at the 2014 Rotary Christmas Parade in Downtown Fayetteville on Dec. 13. 

The Museum of the Cape Fear’s Holiday Jubilee brings sleigh rides and the smell of pine needles to the forefront. The celebration is held outside the 1897 Poe house on Dec. 14, from 1 - 5 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to experience Christmas as visitors to a bygone era — the 1800s. The Poe House will be decorated elaborately for visitors to catch a glimpse of what a Victorian-era Christmas in North Carolina looked like. Onlookers can enjoy caroling, too. Between performances the Poe house will be open for tours.

Caroling was a significant part of the Christmas season in the Victorian period. The Poe children all took music lessons. Singing and playing instruments was for education as well as entertainment. Most likely, the Poe children participated in caroling, or at the very least, the family enjoyed listening to carolers on their doorstep.

Gingerbread and Christmas pudding will be available to try fresh from the oven in the Poe House kitchen. The items made out of the kitchen will be from historic recipes.

Modern day cookies and hot cider will be served on the back porch.

The Jubilee is an annual event that showcases the Coventry Carolers, a group of six vocalists that will perform Christmas classics such as “Oh Holy Night,” “The First Noel,” “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.”

The group dresses in old-fashioned attire to carry out the customary look of carolers.

Megan Maxwell, the Poe House education coordinator, said, “Caroling is a way to share the message of Christmas with friends and neighbors and to inspire others to be excited about the season”.

Caroling is a long-time Christmas tradition that is here to stay. Traditionally, caroling was not only used for a time of holiday spirit but also as a practice in rejoicing the seasonal changes. Now, anyone can turn on the radio and listen to Christmas music, but it’s not the same as hearing a live performance.

“I think the most enjoyable part of the event is seeing the joy that the music and decorations bring to our visitors. It definitely puts everyone in the Christmas spirit,” said Maxwell.

This experience is not only fun for the season, but is also eye-opening. While exploring the grounds of the 1897 Poe House, anyone can experience a piece of history and get an understanding of how times have changed.

Bringing friends and family to the Poe House will not only show what time can do. It might make them a little more grateful for the electronics sitting under the Christmas tree this year.

“I think the most interesting part of the Poe House is definitely the beautiful woodwork and architectural details. You don’t see woodwork like that in modern houses any more, said Maxwell. “The Christmas decorations in the dining room include a beautiful ribbon lattice ceiling treatment accented with magnolia and holly. That is always an awe-inspiring sight.”

The Jubilee is an annual event sponsored by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex Foundation, Inc. The Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex is a museum that brings light to the cultural history of the sandhills of North Carolina. The museum includes three critical parts — Arsenal Park, the 1897 Poe house and the main history museum.

The history museum includes different exhibits such as the history of Fayetteville during the American civil war, Native American, transportation, European settlers and slavery.

The Poe house is open for tours Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Tours of the house are free.

Photos: Enjoy an afternoon of caroling and old-fashioned Christmas cheer at the Poe House.

One morning last week, a frightening dream awoke me at 5:30 a.m. In the dream, a tremendously accomplished white man was speaking to a group of black boys regarding successful living. I was sitting in the back of the room. Looking around, I realized that none of the boys were giving attention to the presentation. I stopped the speaker and went into a rant about these boys missing an opportunity to prepare for successful living. I woke up in the midst of that rant. I was relieved to realize this was a dream, but I know well that this is reality for too many black Americans.

My contention is that much of what plagues black Americans as a group by way of high rates of crime, unemployment, poverty, incarceration and so on is our failure to take anywhere near full advantage of the opportunities that are available to us. I am convinced that this bypassing of opportunities is rooted in feelings of hopelessness and because too many black Americans see themselves as victims. The contributing factors to this bypassing of opportunities show through in the events surrounding the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. In what follows I share some thoughts on the Ferguson events giving insight to the “why and how” of this bypassing of opportunities. Please visit the website below to read a summary of those events.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/us/witnesses-told-grand-jury-that-michael-brown-charged-at-darren-wilson-prosecutor-says.html?_r=0

Now to some contributing factors.

People of influence who feed the hopelessness and victim mentality. Attorney General Eric Holder goes to Ferguson and talks about being stopped by a police officer because he (Holder) was black. Apparently, his aim was to identify with those who are black and share the pain of their perceived mistreatment by white police officers. This validates their victim status. After the grand jury did not indict Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Brown, Holder presses on with an investigation intended to determine whether Wilson violated Brown’s civil rights. That is, shot him simply because he was black. Even though lawyer after lawyer has said the facts do not support such a claim, the Attorney General is pressing on. The message received has to be one of Holder looking out for victims of white police brutality toward blacks. More confirmation of the victim status.

Then President Obama joins the conversation and focuses only on police departments and officers as the sole cause of the distrust that exists among black Americans toward police officers. The action to correct this situation is put squarely on police departments. In an article about Ferguson titled “Obama Speaks” Matt Berman quotes the President:

“’The fact is, in too many parts of this country, a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color. Some of this is the result of the legacy of racial discrimination in this country. And this is tragic because nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates,” Obama said, highlighting the need for criminal justice reform. “We need to recognize that this is not just an issue for Ferguson, this is an issue for America.”’

The message to black Americans is you contribute nothing to causing the tension between your communities and police departments … you are just victims. With that victim mentality comes hopelessness.

Disregarding facts.The facts of this case have been presented, but many people simply refuse to consider them. Case in point is that Michael Brown is on video manhandling and robbing a store clerk minutes before confronting Darren Wilson. The Brown family attorneys argue that this incident has nothing to do with what happened between Brown and Wilson. How can it be that what he did in that store does not show him as capable of attacking a police officer?

Further, reports indicate that Brown had enough marijuana in his system that it could make him act as Wilson and other witnesses testified. That is, charging Wilson after initially leaving the officer’s vehicle. One source is an article by Barbara Hollingsworth at CNSNews.Com titled “Evidence Michael Brown was High on Pot and Carrying a Bag of It.” This is a long segment, but extremely relevant.

“Michael Brown had THC, a behavior-altering substance found in marijuana, in his system when he was killed on Aug. 9, by Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson, according to a toxicology report performed at a St. Louis University lab. The toxicology screen, which was done on Aug. 10, found ‘12 nanograms/ML of Delta-9-THC’ the primary psychoactive ingredient in pot, in Brown’s bloodstream at the time of his death. This amount of Delta-9-THC in Brown’s blood was more than twice the amount that in Washington State — where marijuana is legal — would allow someone to be arrested for driving under the influence. ‘Delta-9-THC detection in the blood defines impairment,’ according to the report. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) ‘seriously impairs judgment and motor coordination,’ according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).’”

Add to this the forensic evidence that Michael Brown did attack Wilson in the officer’s vehicle. All disregarded by so many people who offer no plausible explanation for refusing to accept the reasonable conclusions from this evidence.

Disregarding facts allows one to go on seeing him or herself as a victim.

Media bias. Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.” Without doubt, most media in America is biased in favor of promoting black Americans as victims. Consider how Sunny Hostin, a CNN reporter, handled an interview with Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden. Hostin asked if the mother believed her son attacked Darren Wilson. The mother’s response was, “No.” Remember what I just said about the forensic evidence of an attack. More importantly, Hostin did not ask if the mother believed her son attacked and robbed a store clerk or if she believed he had marijuana in his system. The answer to both would have to be “yes” and that would not fit the biased argument Hostin wanted to make which promotes the victim status of black Americans.

Hostin is not alone. This kind of stuff pervades mainstream media.

Operating with too little information. Maybe because of the rush of life, some people act on far too little information. Sadly, there are those who take advantage of this information deficit. Clearly, many people across this nation believe that a prosecutor’s job is to simply seek to convict those suspected of committing a crime. Consequently, there was this outcry for the District Attorney handling the Darren Wilson case to get him to a jury trial. People verbally attacked him for presenting all available evidence to the grand jury and not just evidence that might result in an indictment. Against that backdrop, consider this statement from the General Standards of the American Bar Association regarding duties of a prosecutor:

“The prosecutor is an administrator of justice, an advocate, and an officer of the court; the prosecutor must exercise sound discretion in the performance of his or her functions. The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.”

So, people were and still are calling for Darren Wilson to face a jury. Not being able to get what operating on too little information leads them to believe should be the outcome produces frustration and anger. It also adds to the feelings of hopelessness and being a victim.

Failing to begin with the end in mind. Franklin Covey developed “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Habit 2 is “Begin with the end in mind.” Would somebody please explain what President Obama, Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, the parents of Michael Brown, the mainstream media, protesters, looters and everybody else of like mind are trying to accomplish regarding Ferguson and the rest of America. I heard one black man who was in the middle of the protesting and looting back in August say, “We want them to give us jobs.” Who is “them?” Might it be those small business owners in Ferguson who were put out of business because of the protesting and looting? Might it be those merchants whose businesses were blocked on black Friday? A lawyer for Brown’s parents said the parents want all police officers to wear cameras. Will cameras stop black males from committing crimes and cause more of them to stay in school, build strong families, take care of children, respect authority and take advantage of opportunities? I doubt it. As best I can tell, from the White House to every part of America, there is just a lot of flailing going on and black Americans are the primary losers followed closely by the rest of what has been a great country. That flailing does nothing but promote hopelessness and a victim mentality among black Americans.

A vapor of accountability. Republican Party staffer Elizabeth Lauten posted comments that strongly criticized President Obama’s daughters for what she viewed as inappropriate dress and demeanor at the recent turkey pardoning ceremony. Within days, because of public outrage, she resigned from her post as communications director for U.S. Rep. Steve Fincher, Republican-Tennessee. On Nov. 24, following the grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson, Louis Head, Michael Brown’s stepfather, loudly called on a crowd to burn Ferguson down. All I can find is that he is being investigated. Meanwhile, his wife and others are defending him by saying he was angry. Lauten is harshly punished immediately while Head is the subject of an investigation that I expect will go absolutely nowhere. Even though I think Lauten was punished unfairly, her calling to account was immediate. That is not the case with Head. I will be surprised if he is ever held accountable for his actions. Now that it seems every event adversely affecting a black American is blamed on racism, holding black Americans accountable is a vapor … it seems present but disappears quickly.

Against this backdrop, I invite readers to track how many looters, in spite of all the video, are brought to justice. I was just watching an interview of Mumtaz Lalani who operated a business for 25 years in that looted and burned area of Ferguson. His business was looted three times since Aug. 9. One event was on Aug. 17. There was video of the looters and his employees identified some of them for the police. Asked if anything had been done by way of holding the guilty accountable, his answer was “No.” Lalani also commented that he had expected the National Guard to be present and protect his business last week, but it did not happen. Accountability is just a vapor.

Again, the message to black Americans is that you are victims who need to be understood. I wonder what message is received by those business owners who were looted and some burned out.

Two Closing Thoughts: What I have presented shows a sad condition among black Americans; however, the process of creating hopelessness and promoting a victim mentality wins votes for those who claim to help alleviate pain in the black community. “Claim” is the important word. Second, the terrifying fact is that hopelessness is spreading to non-blacks. Abounding hopelessness is a formula for the collapse of a nation.

Photo: Michael Brown

It’s Christmas in Fayetteville

 

Ho,ho,ho! Fayetteville, Santa Claus is coming to town! And, I for one, can not wait.

Don’t you just love this time of year! Parades, festivals, Christmas shows, singing Christmas Trees, nutcrackers, bright lights, holiday songs, decorations, food, parties, presents and fruitcakes? Okay, maybe not fruitcakes. But, presents? Yeah, presents! Hey, what’s not to like?

We have so much to celebrate and be thankful for at Christmas. Actually, I find it amusing that even the most fanatical anti-Christmas atheist cannot object to the true celebration of this very special holiday without saying the word CHRISTmas.

Finally, in this case, anyway, we have foiled the rampant rage of political correctness. The fanatics can object to it all day, but, at least they have to say it: CHRISTmas! CHRISTmas! CHRISTmas!

I apologize in advance for my blatant and insensitive disregard for the atheist’s point of view. So, Merry CHRISTmas to the Fayetteville community and all our faithful readers.

I guess this would also be a good time to say “thank you” for all the call’s, emails, letters and voice messages we received in support of our newspaper’s position in support of Fayetteville’s Hometown Utility PWC, its board and management team. Up & Coming Weekly has a flawless 20-year history of supporting both the city and PWC. Rest assured your loyalty and the mission and mandates of our newspaper will not be abandon.

The perfect Christmas present to our city would be a message and reminder to our City Manager, Ted Voorhees, that the Grinch will never steal Christmas and he will never be able to steal PWC. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

First they brought us Scott McCreery for a night of country music. Their second show saw the touring phenom Sister Acttake the stage. Now for a third show, Community Concerts is bringing in another superstar performer — Trace Adkins.

Adkins is a country music superstar in the purest sense of the word. Since his debut single, “There’s a Girl in Texas,” reached the top of the charts 18 years ago, Adkins has become one of the most successful country music artists of this era. He has released more than 10 albums and sold more than 7 million records. He has won CMT Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and been nominated for four different Grammy Awards.

Adkins has even found success onscreen appearing in several movies such as the 2011 hit The Lincoln Lawyer. His most recent onscreen success came in 2013 when Adkins won the 6th Celebrity Apprentice competition on television raising more than $1.5 million for the American Red Cross in the process.

On Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Crown Theater, Adkins will debut his latest artistic endeavor to local audiences when his Christmas tour comes to town for the night. The Christmas Show tour kicked off on Nov. 12, and will run through nearly 20 cities before wrapping up on Dec. 21. The show in Fayetteville is the one and only show Adkins will perform in North Carolina during this tour.

As the name of the tour implies, the show will feature a night of Christmas music performed with the trademark baritone voice that has made Adkins famous. The music performed is a mix of classic Christmas songs and music from Adkin’s 2013 Christmas album: The King’s Gift.

The album that the upcoming show is based on is a departure from the style of music that has made Adkins famous. The music is deeply rooted in the old Celtic style of music. Adkins describes the music as, “the most beautiful thing that I have ever been a part of.” He elaborated on his motivations for taking on this ambitious musical endeavor

.“I love this type of music and I always have. I don’t know what it is about that music, but it touches me in a primal place,” he said. “This was the first opportunity I ever had to actually perform that type of music. I get an incredible amount of gratification from it.”

Considering the level of success that Adkins has been able to garner over his career, it was a bit curious that he chose to have The Christmas Show performed before such intimate audiences when he could easily fill substantially larger venues. Adkins explained his reasoning.

“This is a theatre show. It is kind of like a one-man play, which is one of the reasons why I am a nervous wreck every night before I go out there,” he said. “It is not what I normally do, I usually just go out there and put my foot in the floor and do a 75 or 90 minute concert. This is different, it has narration — an actual script. This is such a different animal. It really lends itself to theatres.”

As Adkins describes the show itself, his passion for the music becomes evident,.

“Musically, this is the most beautiful project that I have ever been a part of. There is a 12-piece ensemble behind me, everything that you need for the Celtic feel. We wanted it to have that very traditional feel. If you had heard these old Christmas carols performed a hundred years ago, they probably would have sounded like this, as far as the instrumentation goes,” he explained. “That is really what we were shooting for.”

He goes on to say, “I really enjoy doing this show. It makes me nervous and anxious about it every night, but I do enjoy doing it. Standing in front of that 12-piece ensemble every night to do this music is a thrill to me.”

Adkins even hinted that this tour could become an annual occurrence in saying, “As long as I can sing these songs to level that I am happy with, I can see myself doing this tour for as long as I can do it.”

Considering the population of Fayetteville and it’s military and blue collar roots, Adkins is very optimistic about how crowds will react to the show.

“They will love it! This is just old-school Christmas songs. The people of Fayetteville are the types of people that will have no problem calling it a Christmas show. It is not a holiday show, it’s a Christmas show.”

Adkins is just as clear about what he would like for audiences to take away from the show itself.

“The King’s Gift, the title of the album, comes from the song ‘The Little Drummer Boy.’ He goes to see the newborn king and he has no expensive gifts to give but he does have his talent; which is to play the drum. That is what he gives, and that is my message to people. The best gifts we have to give to each other don’t have price tags on them. They are the gifts of time, talents and love... If this show doesn’t light the fire of your holiday spirit, then your wood is wet,” he said.

After The Christmas Show, Community Concerts will be back at it after the turn of the year when they bring Dancing Pros Live to Fayetteville on Feb. 11, The Australian Bee Gees on March 25 and motown legend Smokey Robinson to close out the season on April 16. Tickets for the Adkins show, and the remainder of the Community Concerts season, are available now through Community Concerts’ website, Ticketmaster, and the Crown Complex Box Office.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … that means shorter days, cold nights and Christmas decorations in every store. It is time again for the family-oriented Hope Mills Christmas Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Hope Mills welcomes Christmas in a big way and the celebration runs throughout the day. A Day of Christmas In Hope Mills kicks-off at 8:30 a.m., with the annual Breakfast with Santa at the Hope Mills Recreation Center. Children, with their excitement barely contained, line up to eat breakfast with their favorite elf. Tickets are $6.

Residents can then spend the rest of the morning shopping in the downtown area shops or grabbing a bite to eat before staking out a spot for the big event of the year, the Hope Mills Christmas Parade.

The parade, which draws huge crowds, begins at 3 p.m. at the Hope Mills Municipal Park.

“We usually get a big turnout with a lot of beauty queens, local car clubs, military units, local middle and high school marching bands, local businesses and a good variety of others,” said Ryan Gordon, program supervisor of the Hope Mills Parade. “We will have Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus in the parade — the kids really enjoy that.”

Gordon added that this is a traditional community event and a lot of people are involved in making it a success.

As the last sounds of Christmas carols fade away, town residents make their way over to the gazebo by the now-empty Hope Mills Lake for the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m.

“We light our yule log and Santa comes to visit with the kids,” said Gordon. “There will be performances by a ballet group and singing groups at the tree lighting ceremony,” said Gordon.

He added that cookies, hot chocolate and candy canes are on hand for the children at the ceremony and Santa Claus will pass out 30,000 pieces of candy to the children this year.

All participants in the parade should reflect a holiday theme and are encouraged to be creative with costumes and decorations.

“We encourage everyone to come out and see the parade,” said Gordon. “Hope Mills loves Christmas and we look forward to this fun-filled event.”

The parade lineup is at 1 p.m. and judging will begin at 2:15 p.m. For more information call 424-4500.

Photo: The Town of Hope Mills welcomes Christmas on Dec. 6, starting the day with Breakfast with Santa, followed by the parade and the tree-lighting ceremony.

Ballet is an art form in which people spend years training their bodies to perform defined and graceful movements. Ballet is a very formal dance. The movements are specific and often trace their origins back to its inception in the Italian Renaissance. But despite the formality of the movements, each step the dancer takes is fluid and light. In The Nutcracker these graceful movements are used to tell a holiday story that has captivated millions for years.

This year The Nutcrackerwill once again grace Cumberland County as a joint production of Leslie’s Dance Company, Cumberland County Dance Academy, Center Stage School of Performing Arts and The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville. The Nutcrackeris on stage at Methodist University, which is located at 5400 Ramsey St., on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec 7 at 3 p.m.

The Nutcracker follows the Christmas adventures of a young girl named Clara. After being sent to bed on Christmas Eve, Clara sneaks out to check on her favorite gift, a nutcracker, from her godfather Drosselmeyer. Suddenly, the room fills with mice and the nutcracker grows to full size. The nutcracker leads an army of gingerbread men against the mice. Clara helps the nutcracker win the battle by distracting the Mouse King. Afterwards, her beloved and wounded nutcracker, turns into a prince. He leads her into his magical kingdom, visiting the Land of Sweets where Clara’s heroism is celebrated. Then Clara and the prince are crowned rulers.

The four local schools are coming together with their best students to create this year’s performance of the classic holiday story. Leslie’s Dance Company has been operating for 30 years and offers numerous different styles of dance classes from ballet to clogging. Leslie has experience dancing professionally with Robert Joffery and The Shreveport Dance Company and is also the artistic director for The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville. The academy utilized the Countryside Gymnastics training facility located at 330 McArthur Road. Tickets for The Nutcracker can be purchased at the front desk. For more information, visit www.countrysidegym.com/#!leslies-dance-academy/c1lo1.

The Cumberland County Dance Academy is located at 3504 Masonboro Court. in Hope Mills. The Academy offers classes for children as young as three and four, and six separate options for older dancers. From ballet, to lyrical, to hip-hop the Cumberland County Dance Academy has it all. For more information, visit www.cumberlanddanceacademy.com.

Center Stage School of Performing Arts offers education in both dance and music. Center Stage, which has been operating for almost 30 years, focuses on a well-rounded dance education. Classes are not about learning a routine for a specific show. There are two locations: 411 Coldwater Dr. in Garner, N.C., and 509 Broad St. in Fuquay-Varina, N.C.. For more information visit http://centerstagegarnerfuquay.com/CSpages/aboutus.html.

The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville is a non-profit organization. Thanks to generous individuals and businesses every year, they have been able to annually produce The Nutcracker. Not only does this provide an amazing show for the community, it also helps to promote dance in the community. The Dance Theatre of Fayetteville is a ballet company specifically for young dancers to challenge themselves and to learn. It is an experience that they will carry with them for the rest of their dance careers.

Tickets are $10 for the public and $5 for students K5 through high school. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the front desk inside Countryside Gymnastics, and can also be purchased at the door. For more information visitwww.dancetheatreoffayetteville.com/About.html.

Photo: The Nutcracker is on stage at Methodist University Dec. 5-7.

The members of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers are passionate about chorale music. They are passionate about the community, too. Each year the organization performs several concerts, many of them in partnership with other organizations. While Director of Choral Activities and Music Education at Methodist University Dr. Michael Martin does an outstanding job of bringing a variety of chorale productions to the community, the one that does not change from year to year is the December performance of the “Hallelujah Chorus.” This year, the performance is set for Dec. 13 at St. Ann Catholic Church.

“We are performing the first section of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ for the concert. Specifically, it is called ‘Part the First,’ which deals primarily with the birth of Christ,” said Martin. “This is why this first part is so popular during the holiday season, although some places do the entire ‘Messiah’ work. The chorus of ‘Hallelujah’ is actually borrowed from ‘Part the Second,’ yet we include it as it is a traditional part of the Christmas holiday season.”

Not only is this annual performance of “Messiah” a gift to the community, it is one of the many ways that the members of The Cumberland Oratorio Singers reach out to fellow singers and musicians, and people in the area who appreciate music.

“What I most enjoy about this performance is the community aspect of it all,” said Martin. “We hire a professional orchestra and we hire professional soloists. However, our chorus is made up of ‘volunteer’ professionals, if you will, that come from every corner of our community. This event also invites people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to sing this piece, and maybe haven’t since college, to perform it with us. These types of presentations of ‘Messiah’ are quite popular during the holidays, so it is not unique to Fayetteville. The best part of this event is about building our sense of community; it always will be.”

If people would like to participate, they are welcome to attend the last Monday rehearsals with the orchestra on Dec. 1 at Highland Presbyterian Church and Dec. 8 at St. Ann Church. All rehearsals are from 7-9 p.m. Participants need to supply their own music. If making the practice is not an option, people are still welcome to perform. On the night of the concert, anyone wishing to perform needs to tell the greeters that they would like to sing along and they will be directed to areas where they can stand and sit without disrupting the experience of those who have come just to listen. There is no special dress for the concert.

One of the ways that The Cumberland Oratorio Singers keeps performances fresh is by featuring different soloists. This year, Jeffrey Jones, who is on the faculty of Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, is the bass soloist. Anne Rogers, music director at St. Patrick’s Church, will sing the soprano solo. Brenda Vandervort (mezzo soprano) and Melvin Ezzel (tenor) have performed with the group before and continue to be an asset to the organization.

Unlike many other pieces, during “Messiah”, the audience stands for the chorus. “I think audiences always wonder why people stand for the chorus of ‘Hallelujah.’ Theories abound, the most common being that King George II, attending the London premiere of ‘Messiah’ in March of 1743, was so moved by the ‘Hallelujah’ that he stood up,” said Martin. “If the king stands, everybody stands. The only problem is that there is no evidence that he was even at the concert; newspapers and eyewitnesses do not report any royal presence. People are welcome to survey the myriad of research out there as to all the speculation. However, I think it is a great tradition and, if anything, draws the whole audience and participants in at the end of a long performance.”

The performance is set for 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.singwithcos.org.

Photo: One of the sounds of the season in Cumberland County is the annual presentation of Handel’s “Messiah” by the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. As in years past, community members are in-vited to join the group on Dec. 13 and sing along. 

Collateral Damage: Fayetteville Citizens and PWC Rate Payers

Fayetteville residents are assured that we will get through this unfortunate City of Fayetteville/PWC crisis. Sadly, we have allowed a stranger to our community (City Manager Ted Voorhees) to come in and intentionally deceive and misguide the city’s staff and elected officials into thinking that he actually knows more about what is good for Fayetteville and its residents than they do. Really? How can this be?

No doubt, our elected city officials are sincere in their desire to better serve the community. Do they have the talent? Yes. Do they have the desire? Yes! Do they have access to the facts and truth about our current city operations? I don’t think so, and I’m not alone in that thought!

Without accurate and crucial information, they are incapable of doing their jobs and taking the actions that are in the city’s best interest. It amazes me how they so easily acquiesced to Voorhees and allowed him to pass a snap judgment on our public utility, PWC, after it has successfully and efficiently operated and served this community faithfully for decades.

Numerous accolades and awards have been heaped on PWC for its management style, operations and fiscal accountability and responsibility. In 2014 alone, PWC earned the following honors:

• Five Public Power Awards of Excellence presented by ElectriCities of North Carolina. The awards honor outstanding efforts in five key areas: Service Excellence, Energy Efficiency, Financial Stability, Competitive Business Environment and Legislative Involvement on Public Power Issues.

• The Government Finance Officers Association recognized PWC with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and gave special Capital Recognition for the Capital Improvement Budget. PWC was one of only six organizations in the Country to earn all three awards for FY2013. It’s the 19th consecutive year PWC has earned the Budget Award and the seventh straight year for the CAFR.

• The American Pubic Power Association honored PWC with the E.F. Scattergood System Achievement Award, which honors APPA member systems that have enhanced the prestige of public power utilities through sustained achievement and customer service. PWC was one of only two systems honored with this award out of more than 2,000 in the U.S.

Now, after contracting a study from an Aberdeen-based consultant, DavenportLawrence, PWC’s operations are no longer adequate or acceptable. Really? Consultants will say whatever you want them to say since you are paying the bill.

It’s no secret now that PWC has filed a legal complaint against the City of Fayetteville stemming from the DavenportLawrence report. Last week, the City of Fayetteville’s legal office, City attorney Karen McDonald, replied to the complaint. If you study her reply, you will be amazed. Unfortunately, we believe it is a preview of things to come if the members of the city council do not do their due diligence and weigh the facts of PWC’s history and successful past performance against the recommendations in the consultant’s report. The consultants do not know this community or the track record of PWC.

If PWC’s transgressions were so egregious, we think there would be more for the city’s legal counsel to argue than “irresponsible and wasteful” charitable spending. So, let’s break down the city’s charges against PWC and compare them to the overall mission and mandates of the utility and the City of Fayetteville, which are, to my knowledge, to serve the community, promote economic development and enhance our city’s image and quality of life as a place that nurtures “History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling.” This being the case, why is it that the city manager and city council are finding fault with PWC for spending money to enhance its hometown? And, if the city takes over the finances of PWC it makes you wonder — what will happen to those donations and enhancements?

Here is what the city objects to:

Spending $46,000 a year on special events, music festivals, concerts, soirées*, theater and arts venues.

Truth and Reality: No enhancement of quality-of-life or municipal support for cultural venues.

*Soirees? Interesting. The only soiree I am familiar with is the one conducted by the Partnership for Children as a countywide fundraiser. If this complaint is about that, then perhaps City Attorney Karen McDonald can address the issue since she was the president of the board of this organization when The Soiree was launched and her request was made for sponsorship.

Spending $4,000 a year on golf tournaments.

Truth and Reality: No, these aren’t company outings. These are venues that support education, child advocacy and medical assistance to young children in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Bad PWC! How dare a Hometown Utility invest some of its revenues that come from the community back into the community?

Spending $20,000 in “a single year on a local cemetery.” Yes, they are finding fault with PWC for helping the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake.

Truth and Reality: This request of PWC was made by the city. This statewide fundraising initiative to build an enclosed committal shelter for the comfort of families when honoring and burying their loved ones is also a bad thing? Really? Locally, Rev. Archie Barringer and community activist George Breece led the successful fundraising effort by raising more than $300,000 for the project.

Senator Wesley Meredith sponsored a bill that resulted in a $125,000 contribution. Let’s put the pieces together here. This cemetery honors veterans and Fayetteville is the “most military community in the United States.” Our leadership at that time, along with PWC, understood the importance of the project and the significance of this project and the importance of paying respect to our veterans and holding in high regard our military residents.

Spending $10,000 sponsoring basketball tournaments.

Truth and Reality: Fayetteville, as a youth sports event destination, has for many years been looked at as a fast-growing opportunity for economic development. We wouldn’t want to support that, would we?

Spending $5,000 with the Fayetteville Area Homebuilder’s Parade of Homes and Annual Home Show and spending $1,000 on the plumbing contractors association.

Truth and Reality: Local homebuilders want to build safe and energy efficient homes and PWC wants to help them do just that. This industry works in partnership with PWC. At the annual Home and Garden Show, PWC offers classes, seminars and free advice to professional builders, homeowners and general consumers on ways to better use, manage and conserve water and electricity. That is their mission. When it comes to plumbers, I don’t think anyone would dispute that if your business is “water” then it is important to have a supportive and professional relationship with plumbing contractors and their trade association.

I could go on and on, but I think you can begin to see the point. It is obvious here they do not understand the mission of PWC. More concerning, it doesn’t look like they care. If the only defense the city staff has when calling out PWC is to chastise them for supporting the community, then you better believe that they missed their mark and that they are not that good. In addition, it makes you wonder what other intentions they have for these funds. Rest assured, it will have nothing to do with lowering your utility rates, improving your services or preparing for a potential disaster.

Needless to say, we want this conflict between the city and PWC to be resolved quickly. It is taking up way too much precious time, which can be better spent improving our community and our businesses. It is also our hope that the current city council will do its due diligence and investigate every aspect of this situation not through the eyes of someone who will only be here for a brief time and who is probably looking for the next big paycheck, but rather through the eyes of our long-term, lifetime citizens – the 204,408 residents of Fayetteville who are “all in,” and who celebrate the one hundred year track record of PWC’s success, fiscal responsibility and well defined stewardship.

When all is said and done, it will come down to one question: Whom do you trust? Do you trust a consultant who spends a few weeks cherry-picking our community? Or do you trust the staff at PWC who live here, work here, raise their children here, who are your neighbors and your friends? Are you going to trust a consultant who chastises PWC for community involvement and community enhancement, while filling their pockets with the city’s money? Maybe you can see the irony in the current defense. The consultant pointed out our Hometown Utility’s investment in the community as a bad thing. Ironically, the same consultant’s previous job was to do the exact same thing with Progress Energy. Who are you going to trust?

I am banking on local!

According to the National Institutes of Health: Experts estimate that 1 out of 88 children age 8 will have an ASD(Autism Spectrum Disorder). Males are four times more likely to have an ASD than females. In 1997, at the request of Congress, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) formed its Autism Coordinating Committee (NIH/ACC) to enhance the quality, pace and coordination of efforts at the NIH to find a cure for autism (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-pervasive-developmental-disorders/nih-initiatives/nih-autism-coordinating-committee.shtml).

Known for supporting great causes, the FireAntz are stepping up to help the Autism Society of Cumberland County. On Dec. 13, the Fayetteville FireAntz will host Autism Awareness Night at the Crown. As part of this initiative, the team has adopted honorary team member Caleb Johnson. Ten-year-old Johnson hails from Cumberland County and is a big fan of the team. As the FireAntz take the ice against the Hunstville Havoc, the team will sport special jerseys that will be auctioned off at the end of the game. A portion of the proceeds will go to support the Autism Society of Cumberland County. For the Dec. 13 game only, the team will adjust the lighting and PA system to create an atmosphere that will accommodate those in attendance that have autism.

Johnson’s family has experienced the generosity of the FireAntz on a very personal level. “Caleb’s daddy is friends with Kevin (McNaught), the general manager for the FireAntz, so we always went to the games and my son really got into the hockey,” said Tammy Walters, Caleb’s Mom. “Caleb is not a person who likes to be in a crowd and he was slowly introduced to the arena and the game. One time we took him in and he met the players. Another time he went in and touched the ice. It was a very gradual process. This is the only place where Caleb he doesn’t have problems with crowds. This has also helped him in other ways. It has made it easier for him to be in a crowd when we go to other places like restaurants.”

Walters also noted how compassionate and patient the players were when they were introduced to Caleb. “Sometimes Caleb repeats things five or six times when he is talking. They all took their time and went out of their way to be nice to my child and answer any questions we had.”

“On behalf of the team, we’re extremely excited to support a cause so dear to our hearts ,” Fayetteville FireAntz General Manager Kevin McNaught said. “It’s important to us to give back and support the members of the community that have given us so much over the years. We look forward to the continued growth of this program for years to come.”

The mission of the Autism Society of Cumberland County is to provide support and promote opportunities that enhance the lives of individuals within the autism spectrum and their families. Through programs and activities, the organization seeks to inform and educate parents/caregivers and professionals by providing referral, resource information and opportunities for families. By collaborating with other organizations in the community the Autism Society of Cumberland County helps pair families with appropriate services. Support groups, support parents and parent education programs make things easier for family members because it gives them a chance to meet other families facing the same struggles as well as meet professionals in the community.

“No matter how you look at it, having a child with any level of Autism Spectrum Disorder is a gift,” said Walters. “They are an amazing gift from God. They are so special.”

Find out more about the FireAntz at www.fireantzhockey.com. Learn more about the Autism Society of Cumberland County at http://www.autismcc.org.

Photo:  The FireAntz are set to host Autism Awareness night, complete with commemorative jerseys.

Downtown Fayetteville is an exciting hub of activity and fun for the community. Every year, for one night only, the people who live in the lofts downtown decorate and open their homes to anyone in the community who would like to have glimpse into loft living. The event keeps getting bigger and better every year.

“We have eight lofts committed, and that may go up to 10,” said Ingrid Stelly the vice president of the Downtown Alliance.
Loft living isn’t very common in Fayetteville. It is a unique form of living in the heart of the city in the spaces above restaurants and storefronts. In many cases, the spaces are quite charming and bigger than one might expect. The loft tours offer a glimpse into the downtown lifestyle. For those who have never experienced the annual Candle Light Loft Tour, Stelly says, “People should expect a look into the urban living in downtown Fayetteville.

They will see the beautifully decorated lofts and the loft form. It is a great way to enjoy December and an adventure for Christmas. The lofts are decorated for Christmas and you can enjoy the sweet sounds of carolers as they stroll the streets. This is an exciting kick-off for the Christmas season.”

Travelling between the participating lofts is a great experience as well. Though downtown is beautiful in the brisk evening air, walking is not the only option. “BMW is bringing its electric car, which will take people to and from the different streets for free. We will also have carriage rides to take people to and from the lofts,” said Stelly.

Organizing the Candlelight Loft Tour is a big undertaking, but one that the event organizers enjoy. It is run and organized entirely by volunteers from  beginning to end. Stelly, in particular, is extremely excited for the annual tour. “I’m most excited for seeing the apartments. There was not a lot of urban living downtown before. Seeing the decorated lofts and interacting with the loft owners and getting to hear their experiences are great,” she said. And she is not the only one in the community who loves the tour.

“This has become an annual event and we get inquiries into the loft tours as early as October. Folks look forward to it,” she continued.
The Candle Light Loft Tour is an opportunity to experience a unique lifestyle in the beautiful and historic downtown. The homes are gorgeously and meticulously decorated for the holiday. It is simply an annual tradition that shouldn’t be missed. For those who do attend, Stelly suggests, “To get the most out of the experience, you should try to see the most lofts. And the way to do that is to show up on time because it is only three hours. So get your tickets early and come on time.”

Tickets are available at the Downtown Alliance office, The Pilgrim and So Chic Bebe. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 the night of the tour. Proceeds support the Downtown Alliance. Tickets are on sale now. The tour takes place on Dec. 14 and start at 6 p.m. For more information visit the following site www.faydta.org/candlelight-loft-tour or call
222-3382.   

On Monday, Nov. 10, Up & Coming Weekly filed an open records request with the City of Fayetteville. The request came following a decision by the city’s top administrator, City Manager Ted Voorhees, to cease all advertising, partnerships and sponsorships in connection with the community newspaper on Nov. 5 as a result of a less than favorable editorial written by Up & Coming Weekly Publisher Bill Bowman on Oct. 22.

In the open records request, Up & Coming Weekly asked the following: “Pursuant to the N.C. Public Records Act, I am requesting copies of all city communications whether electronic or hard copy, and all texts referencing Up & Coming Weekly from Sept. 1, 2014 to Nov. 10, 2014. This request includes all communications between not only city staff but also the city council.”

The North Carolina Public Records Act and Open Meetings Law is monitored and enforced by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, which along with the North Carolina Press Association, works to ensure that government activities and operations are open. In a guide created in partnership between the attorney general’s office and the NCPA, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper wrote, “The spirit in which public officials work to comply with the law is as important as the law itself. Recognizing that the public’s business should be done in the open and honoring requests for help serves the people as well as those who seek to inform them.”

He further noted, “In other words, when in doubt about how to interpret the state’s open records and meetings laws — (the government should) always work to resolve the question in favor of openness.”

According to the N.C. Public Records Law, public records are documentary materials made or received by government agencies in North Carolina in carrying on public business. Public records include materials written or created by the government and its employees. Public records include paper and electronic documents, emails, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts or other documentary material, regardless of physical form
or characteristics.

If an agency fails to release or disclose public records, the requestor, in this case, Up & Coming Weekly, can bring a civil action in court against the government agency or official who denied access. North Carolina courts are charged to set public record complaints for immediate hearings and give these cases priority over other cases. If the court finds that an agency or individual was denied access without substantial justification, the agency must pay all court and attorney fees and release the documents.

In the case of the public records request by Up & Coming Weekly to the city, a review of documents released by city staff found that several key city officials failed to respond to the request and among those who did, several failed to disclose or release a full record of communications concerning Up & Coming Weekly.

Key officials who failed to disclose all pertinent records include:
• City Manager Ted Voorhees
• Deputy City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney
• Corporate Communications Director Tracie Davis
• City Attorney Karen McDonald
• Storm Water Manager Greg Caison

Bowman has long been a staunch supporter of the City of Fayetteville. He is “surprised and perplexed” by Voorhees’ actions, which he views as “retaliatory and inhibiting” his paper’s ability to cover the city as Voorhees ordered that the community newspaper was to be given “no more information” and is indignant at the city’s blatant disregard for the Open Records Law.
“As a North Carolina community newspaper publisher and ardent advocate of the 4th Estate and the 1st Amendment, I take the Open Records and Open Meetings laws very seriously,” said Bowman. “Transparency in government is critical to good governance. Having served on the board of the North Carolina Press Association and as past president of the NCPA Community Newspaper Association, I know how important the ‘Sunshine Laws’ are — not only in pursuit of good governance but also in pursuit of keeping the citizens informed and keeping government actions above board.
“Over the past 20 years of operating Up & Coming Weekly, I have never found myself in a position where a local government has demonstrated a total lack of regard for not only the Open Records Law, but also for the 1st Amendment and its prohibition of government infringement of the press, which ultimately translates into a lack of regard and respect for the citizens they govern.”
Bowman, who is known for his commentaries, said he was shocked at what he considers “rash, emotional and unprofessional” decision making by Voorhees in retaliation to the commentary concerning the ongoing court action between the Public Works Commission and the City of Fayetteville..

“No doubt it was a knee-jerk reaction on Voorhees’ part. The text he dashed off to city staff confirms that it was an emotional and not well thought out decision,” said Bowman.

The text Bowman references is the only communication Voorhees reported in response to the public records request. Voorhees sent the following email to Corporate Communications Director Tracie Davis, whose office is charged with answering public records requests.

“Tracie: I didn’t spend much time on the Up and Coming issue. I went through email and text messages and here is all I found. It is a text message from me to Kenneth Maynard on Friday, Oct 24 at 4:28 p.m.:

“No more info and ads for Up and Coming and Kidsville. We are done with them. I’ve shared with Tracie already.”
The text to Maynard was sent from Voorhees’ iPhone.

Voorhees’ statement that he had no other communications concerning Up & Coming Weekly were negated in an email forwarded to the Public Information Office from Rusty Thompson, the director of the city’s Engineering and Infrastructure Department. In disclosing his communications,

Thompson included a text from Voorhees: “Please stop providing any ads or information to Up and Coming and Kidsville News.”

Thompson, in turn, forwarded the text to Caison, who in his email to the Public Information Office said he had no communications concerning Up & Coming Weekly at all, even though he not only communicated back to Thompson with the following: “Really... Ok! We are already confirmed for the November issue of Kidsville and doubt we can pull out of that one? We stopped up-and-coming 2 or 3 years ago.”

Caison was further copied by members of his staff on several emails concerning Up & Coming Weekly, including communications from Up & Coming Weekly zeroing out the agency’s accounts. Voorhees, like Caison, was also copied on a number of emails, which he did not disclose.
“In my 20 years of working with and advocating for the City of Fayetteville, I have never experienced this kind of total disregard and disrespect of the law, which has put us in our first adversarial position with the city I love,” said Bowman. “I built my newspaper and publishing business on promoting Fayetteville and showcasing its quality of life. This is very disappointing and difficult for me. This is not a place I personally ever wanted to be and never thought I would find myself or my newspaper.”

In an interview with Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson, Up & Coming Weekly attempted to bring some openness to not only Voorhees’ retaliatory actions, but also address the failure of some members of the city staff to obey the law in regards to the open records request.
When asked whether the council had been read in to Voorhees’ intent to put prohibitions on information and advertising on Up & Coming Weekly prior to the staff being informed by Voorhees, Robertson said that neither he nor the council had been informed or read in to the actions.

When he questioned Voorhees about the action during the city council’s working meeting on Nov. 10, Voorhees indicated that he felt that Up & Coming Weekly had a negative slant and “wasn’t something that he felt the city should be involved with.” For his part, Robertson said that he does not see Up & Coming Weekly as negative to the city. Robertson acknowledged the partnership Up & Coming Weekly has had with the city over the past six years, providing the City of Fayetteville more than $300,000 in free editorial space to ensure residents know what is happening in the city. He noted that in a time of constrained resources, Voorhees’ decision was not wise.

Also during the city council work meeting, Voorhees noted that while the corporate communications staff had not done any research yet on effectiveness of communications through Up & Coming Weekly, they would. In response to a public records request by the Fayetteville Observer, Davis told staff writer Andrew Barksdale that there was an ongoing media review. When queried about said ongoing review of media, Mayor Robertson said that to his knowledge no media review was occurring or had been asked for by the council.

When queried about the open records law, Robertson said that failure by staff to openly and honestly respond to requests should result in termination.
Voorhees was contacted and asked the following questions:

1. Was the decision to pull all information from Up & Coming Weekly based on what you believe to be a negative editorial slant/vice a systemic review of all media sources?

2. Other than the commentary by Bill Bowman on Oct. 22, what other articles about the city have shown the negative editorial slant that you believe is pervasive in the newspaper?

3. What is your reaction to the following: In the first six months of 2014, there were 77 articles in Up & Coming Weekly talking about the City of Fayetteville. Only one article was negative, and that was about the city council and was in support of city staff. Would you consider that a negative editorial slant? And if you believe there is one, please give me a list of articles.

4. Did you consult with any local citizens or your department heads before texting a missive to them to cancel everything in Up & Coming because you are “done with them?” Do you think this was professional?

5. In your words, please define what you view as a government’s infringement on the press.

6. In a public meeting you told the city council that your staff didn’t see the value in Up & Coming Weekly. If that is the case, why were they upset about the cancellation notice?

7. If money and resources are tight, why would you give up more than $50,000 annually in free print and online space? Does this seem like good stewardship of the city’s resources?

8. Are you aware that it is against the law to fail to disclose all information requested in a public records request? And if so, why did you fail to do so?

In a written response, Voorhees failed to answer the questions and instead referred all queries to Davis.

Davis was also sent a series of questions, which included the following:

1. On Monday, Nov. 10, in the public meeting, Mr. Voorhees said that you and your staff did not feel like the sections in Up & Coming Weekly were meeting your needs and that you were doing a review of media partnerships. What led you to believe that the sections were not informing the public? Do you have specific examples or complaints from citizens or staff about the sections? And what sort of review did you conduct to determine that they were not a good fit? And what in your previous experience qualifies you to make that judgment?

2. Andrew Barksdale, of the Fayetteville Observer, asked you about the situation with Up & Coming Weekly in a public records request. Your written response to him noted: “The city has a limited advertising budget and is in the middle of revamping our marketing strategy. This also limits promotional items and other advertising that we purchase. We are researching multiple options with our budget to best maximize the city’s branding and leverage potential reach to our citizens across multiple mediums for the balance of the current and upcoming fiscal year.”
* If this is the case, what other media outlets were involved in your review?
* What were you looking for and at?
* What was your standard for judging effectiveness?
* What other media relationships/contracts did you cancel?
* Further, if your office was in fact conducting a review, why would two of your staffers exchange a text asking. “What was going on with Bill Bowman and Up & Coming?” with the response being, “He, (Bill Bowman) trash talked Ted and the city and not giving fair and balanced reporting on the PWC issue.” Response from another member of your staff: “Figured it was something like that?”
* On the record, did you in fact conduct an official review (and if so, please provide the data and other media involved) and if not, were decisions based on a perception of a “negative editorial slant?”

3. If the city’s advertising budget is tight and you are looking to talk to citizens across a multiple of mediums, why would you give up two pages of free editorial space in a printed publication and an online presence?

4. Mr. Voorhees also indicated in the public meeting that department heads were not satisfied with Up & Coming Weekly. If that was the case, why did city employee Jami McLaughlin say she was “shell shocked” and continue to ask to keep her column? To which you replied, “I understand...” (McLaughlin’s request was approved following undisclosed communications between Voorhees, Toney-Small and Davis). And specifically, in regards to Storm Water, Mr. Caison showed utter surprise at being told to cancel his program. Were department heads unhappy?

5. On Oct. 30, following your letter to Stephanie Crider (Up & Coming Weekly’s editor), I (Janice Burton, associate publisher, Up & Coming Weekly) sent you an email basically asking you many of the same questions above. You did not respond.
* Why did you fail to respond to a media query?
* Why didn’t you include my email to you in the response to the public information request?

6. Are you and the city staff aware that failure to fully disclose information asked for in a public records request is against the law? And are you aware that there are many correspondences between city employees regarding Up & Coming Weekly that I have record of that were not disclosed by your office?
In a written response that was to cover all questions asked to Voorhees and herself, Davis responded:

“In regards to your questions to Mr. Voorhees and myself concerning abridging the freedom of the press, in no way has staff with the City of Fayetteville limited the press’ ability to report on the city. In addition, staff has gone above and beyond the requirements of law to meet your public records request and we will continue to do so. Up and Coming Weekly has the same access as other members of the public and the media to attend meetings, receive press releases via email, access information via the website and make public records requests. Furthermore, Up and Coming Weekly is welcome to have their publication out for distribution at City Hall.

“We continue to partner with Up and Coming Weekly in producing the Downtown Developments section. In regards to our decision to no longer devote staff time to producing FOCUS On Fayetteville, it is our choice how we delegate our resources to best meet the needs of the city, citizens and city departments.

“I am happy to meet with you to discuss how we can (move) forward. We can also discuss future advertising opportunities with Up and Coming Weekly.”

“If you look at all of these responses and lack of responses, there appears to be an element of untruth that runs through them,” said Crider. “That’s one of the reasons that the Open Records Law is so important — so that there is transparency in government and that the ‘sunshine’ of open records keeps government and its administrators honest and above board. I am, quite frankly, disappointed in what has happened and what we have seen as dishonesty in our city administration.”

Bowman and his staff are in the process of filing a civil complaint with the courts concerning the obvious disregard of the Open Records Law by the city, a position that Bowman regrets, but feels necessary in the best interest of the Fayetteville community.

“I have always had the utmost respect for our city and its leaders. To be in this situation at a time when Fayetteville is collectively working hard to enhance its image and reputation and solidify its brand is extremely unfortunate,” he continued. “The lack of leadership is sad and frustrating. I firmly believe there is much talent, integrity and goodness in the city administration. Unfortunately, at this point, we feel Up & Coming Weekly must take a stand for open, responsible, professional and honest governance. We must also take a stand for the residents of Fayetteville and Cumberland County that we have faithfully served for nearly 20 years. “

You all have been so good to me over the years! I want to be the first to share what I think is really wonderful news. You have helped me understand that my befuddlement over tattoo mania is just a generational difference, that driving only station wagons is a perfectly reasonable vehicular choice and that there are plenty of other dog lovers out there. I appreciate when you have straightened me out on a number of weightier issues as well.
So, here is some good news for you.

If you are mid-life and feeling a bit low about things, you are very likely heading into the happiest years of your life.
Say what?

Happiness is the thrust of the cover story in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine, chronicling recent research indicating that we get happier, more contented and wiser as we age. Researchers use a U-shaped curve to graph this transition in human life. It is a visual representation of the burst of energy, optimism and creativity that accompanies young adulthood, followed by the slump, sometimes referred to as a midlife crisis, that overtakes many people in their 40s and 50s. The right side of the U is the uptick life often takes for people beginning in their mid 50s, bringing with it a sense of peace, well-being sometimes despite chronic health issues, acceptance and gratitude.

The science of the U-curve is in its infancy for all sorts of reasons. Happiness is like pornography. We all know it when we see — or in this case — feel it, but it is impossible to define. In addition, the whole concept of a midlife crisis is relatively new, first appearing in a 1965 scholarly article. The Atlantic depicts a midlife crisis with photos of a sad looking middle-aged fellow decked out in a moto leather jacket and shades as he hangs morosely over the door of a red Corvette. Until recent human history, though, no one worried about midlife crises, because most people did not live long enough to have one. Today, however, being middle-aged almost doubles your chances of taking antidepressants.

Each human being is unique, of course, and it appears that some of us simply do not experience the swoop of the U-curve, but many of us do. What is more, scientists are finding indications that the U-curve exists across genders, nationalities, cultures, survey questions, population studied and methods of analysis. In other words, people who experience the U-curve felt their lowest at the average age of 50 when the pressures of life buffet us relentlessly. Satisfaction with their lives climbs steadily after that nadir. In addition, studies also show that social reasoning and long-term decision making — maybe this is what we think of as wisdom — improve as we age. We also become increasingly spiritual, especially if we are women. There is evidence, too, that older people cope more readily with life’s complexities and ambiguities. They go with the flow.

While some scientists blanch a bit at this, other researchers have found evidence that some of our closest genetic cousins, chimpanzees and orangutans, also experience the U-curve. And how do we know since we cannot ask them directly and they cannot fill out a survey? Zookeepers and other animal caretakers observed them and filled out the surveys in their stead. Suspicious science? Maybe, but I can tell when Lovely Lilly the Lab is feeling a little blue.

A young person recently told me I am so lucky to be at my stage of life. “Why do you say that?” I asked. “Because,” she said, “your major life decisions, the really hard ones like career, choosing a life partner, whether to have children and how many are behind you. You do not have to worry about making big mistakes in those critical areas of life.”

I have thought a great deal about this conversation and realize my young friend is right. Those major decisions have been made, and I do have a sense of well-being that I did not have not so very long ago along with a sense that the rest of my life will revolve around the people, both family and friends, who mean the most to me. I look forward to most days, even the uneventful ones, to traveling more, to watching the Precious Jewels grow in their adult lives.

The Atlantic quotes the late author Donald Ritchie on the progress of life, what we are now coming to think of as the U-curve. Said Ritchie, “Midlife crisis begins sometime in your 40s, when you look at life and think, ‘Is this all?’ And it ends about 10 years later, when you look at your life again and think, ‘Actually, this is pretty good.’”

In this season of thankfulness, the U-curve seems like one more reason to be filled with gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Dicksons.

Blessings,
Margaret