Change.
    As the Jan. 20 inauguration of this nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama, grows nearer and nearer, you can feel change in the air. It’s as present, as palpable, as that first cool September breeze cutting through the oppressive summer heat, signaling the start of another autumn.
    {mosimage}It’s a change that’s being felt across this nation and across Fayetteville, a shifting of history’s tectonic plates as the first African American readies himself for the Oval Office.
    It is a change that Helen Hooks Farrior, a former member of the Cumberland County School Board who will be traveling to Washington D.C. to see the inauguration firsthand, says has surely been a long, long time coming.
“I feel disbelief that this has happened in my lifetime,” said Farrior. “I was born back when we didn’t have access to what we have now. There were so many doors that were closed to us … opportunities that were closed. I can remember the school bus passing me and we were walking. I can remember getting school books that were not new. I remember having to go to the outside of a restaurant and having sandwiches passed to you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have someone of African descent becoming president.”
    And the fact that the inauguration of a person of color is happening in conjunction with the celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and legacy is not lost on Farrior. She sees the timing as something more than just coincidence … she sees it as something divinely ordained.
    “It’s sort of amazing that it would happen at this time,” said Farrior. “Someone said that it seems to have a religious aspect, not that religion is the cure all and the panacea for everything, but some are thinking that it’s an omen … something is most definitely happening.
    “I have a brother who says that God is in this thing,” said Farrior, “to which I have to say, ‘God is in everything.’”
    Just as Farrior thinks God is in everything, she — and many others at this crossroad in American history — believes that President-Elect Obama is walking in the footsteps of those who blazed the Civil Rights trail before him … a trail splattered with the blood, the sweat, the tears of those who believed that all men and women, indeed, are created equal.
    Another who believes Obama is following the path worn by Dr. King and Rosa Parks and Medgar Evans, is 77-year-old Illa Haire, who will be attending her first inauguration when Obama takes the oath.
    And like Farrior, she is also in a daze of disbelief at what has come to pass.
    And she too talks of the tide of “change.”
    “I never in my lifetime thought this would happen,” said Haire. “It didn’t look like it was ever going to happen. The country has come a long, long way. This is history right here. And all the things Dr. King and the rest went through … this makes it all so very worthwhile.”
    While Farrior and Haire share the historical perspective of this monumental change, having lived through the Civil Rights struggles, having seen the televised attacks by Bull Connor’s dogs and the loosening of  the fire hoses and heard the hateful vitriol of George Wallace, some see the change in a more immediate and contemporary way.
Folks like Fayetteville City Councilmember Charles Evans, who has seen the change and the renewed belief in the political system Obama’s election has brought to a generation of young people. Evans will also be attending Obama’s inauguration.
    “Unlike Mrs. Farrior, I’m not amazed,” said Evans. “While I understand her amazement, I saw how energized the younger folks became over this man. So while I’m extremely excited, I’m not surprised.”
    {mosimage}“They (the young people) looked beyond the color,” said Evans. “They looked at the needs of the country. This man sang the praises of change, change, change and they embraced that. They’re seeing that they can make a very big difference on our future.”
    Someone else who sees and feels the change, the electricity of the moment sweeping across the country like a benevolent tidal wave, is Haire’s son, Fayetteville City Councilmember D.J. Hare, who will be alongside his mother for the inauguration.
    “I think it’s going to heal up a lot of wounds … not all of them,” said D.J. Haire. “We still have a long, long way to go and he’s got a lot on his shoulders. But I really think the country is pulling together.
    “This is an opportunity for black folks to stick their chests out … but now we need to go even further than that,’ said Haire. “ I tell people if their yard is not clean, clean up your yard; if you’ve got cars that aren’t running and broken down let’s fix them or take them to the junkyard. Those may sound like simple things but it’s sticking your chest out and having pride. I’m telling the young men ‘Pull your pants up. Take the earring out, do this, make this change in your life.’ Let’s make more of a significant change than just this. And I see it. I hear it in conversations. I think we’re going to see even more changes coming.”
    Even though Haire sees the inauguration as a chance for African Americans to stick out their chest, he says it’s also an opportunity for all people to feel pride and embrace change — after all, he points out, Obama is not only half black, but also half white.
    This sense of pride and excitement is most definitely shared by Haire’s fellow councilmember, Val Applewhite.
Like all the others previously mentioned in this article, she is also attending her very first inauguration.
    “I am so excited,” said Applewhite. “It is very, very special. When he (Obama) came to Fayetteville to speak I looked around and there was such a mixture of people … a mixture that you don’t normally see in Fayetteville.
    “It’s all a reflection of Dr. King’s dream,” said Applewhite. “His dream that we could all come together … that we could change things for the better. I have no doubt that during the inauguration I will start crying … it’s just such an emotional thing.”
    When Applewhite cries they will be tears of joy that will undoubtedly mingle with the waterfall created by millions of like minded folks as they weep for what they see as a new age … an age of renewed equality … an age of change.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com 

    If you’ve recently taken the family out for dinner and a movie, you know that such a night on the town can inflict a dent of Grand Canyon proportions on your bank account.
    After paying for the meal, buying the tickets and a tub or two of popcorn, you’ve expended roughly the entire annual budget of a breakaway Russian republic.
    Fortunately, for both your family and your finances, Huske Hardware House in downtown Fayetteville has a solution: the restaurant/brewery is offering Dinner and a Movie Night every Tuesday, with kids 10 and under allowed to eat for free.
    Tonia Collins, co-owner of Huske Hardware House, says Dinner and a Movie Night will screen films at 6 and 8 p.m.; plus, she says all movies will be family fare, rated PG-13 or better.
    “There will also be romantic movies for a date night,” said Collins. “And even families can enjoy a date night; we’ve got enough room so kids can sit at a table or booth separate from mom and dad so the parents can have their own personal date night.”
    Collins says the movies will either be played off a DVD or streamed via satellite onto the restaurant’s two large screen TVs — an additional pair of large screen televisions will be set up in the future.
    {mosimage}Collins says she believes the idea is original to Huske Hardware House and she also says that viewers will not only be treated to great food and a great picture, but great sound as well.
    “This idea came to us when we were doing a UFC fight and we previewed a movie afterwards,” said Collins. “We played it late that night after we were closed and we realized what a great sound system we have... it was almost like a theater. So we thought how great it would be to have a movie night.”
    The sound system is so good, in fact, that Huske Hardware House has another cinematic idea coming down the pike in February after football season is over: “almost live” concerts on Monday nights, featuring prerecorded video concerts such as Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
    A specific time for the video concerts has not been decided on, though Collins says it will probably be a little later in the evening, perhaps eventually segueing into midnight movies.
    “We don’t necessarily want to be playing Pink Floyd’s The Wall when there are a lot of children in the restaurant,” said Collins. “But this does offer a lot of possibilities.”
    Collins adds that restaurant goers uninterested in a movie or video concert need not be concerned about the noise level generated by these events.
    “The sound for the movie is great, but you can still have a conversation,” said Collins. “The way the restaurant is built it absorbs the noise. You can have the TV blaring and still have a conversation.”
    Collins says Huske will probably offer drink specials for the Monday night concert films and perhaps movie-themed meal specials on Dinner and a Movie Night, which started on Jan. 6.
    For a list of upcoming movies, call Huske Hardware House at 437-9905. 

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com 

    Jeff Worth, seated, and Paul McArdle are ready to get your motor running as Rockfish Motor Sports prepares to open a go-kart course on Rockfish Road.
    On Jan. 17, Rockfish Motor Sports will open a 1/8th-mile track on Rockfish Road, just behind the Rockfish Flea Mall.
You will be able to bring your go-kart to the track to kick up dust and trade a little paint, or, if you don’t own a go-kart, you’ll be able to rent one.
    It’s all about having fun while keeping safe and out of trouble said Paul McArdle, a spokesman for Rockfish Motor Sports.
    “It’s going to be a family-oriented operation,” said McArdle. “It will give kids a place to ride go-karts rather than down railroad tracks or power lines or streets or neighbors’ yards.”
    The track is the brainchild of Bill Brown, owner of Brownies Towing on the Cumberland/Hoke County line. Brown used to race competitively himself, burning up the oval in the Legends series — a sort of miniature version of NASCAR.
Also, Brown’s two sons — a 4-year-old and a 14-year-old — are into riding go-karts.
    “It’s a hobby more than a business for Mr. Brown,” said Jeff Worth, a mechanic for Rockfish Motor Sports. “It’s something he got hooked on. He wants to make money but it’s also to have fun.”
    While McArdle says the track will give kids a safe alternative to tearing up local streets or cow pastures, he realizes that “big kids” will be attracted to the thrill of the ride as well.
    “We feel there is going to be a great demand, not only from children but by military personnel,” said McArdle. “The Special Forces and 82nd Airborne are very gung ho and like thrills.”
    And even though there will be plenty of thrills and chills at the track, safety will be the first concern. While some of the go-karts sold by Rockfish Motor Sports will attain speeds of up to 40 mph, there will be a 25 mph speed limit on the course. The limit will be enforced on the rental karts through the use of a governor.
    In order to further ensure safety, all drivers must sign a waiver before taking the track and anyone under 12 must have the signed permission of a parent or guardian.
    Also, all drivers will be required to wear a helmet and goggles while on the track.
    “If people exceed the speed limit we’ll ask them to leave,” said McArdle.
    The price for racing around the track is $30 a half hour — $25 if you have your own kart. The rental price includes the use of goggles and a helmet. Of course, McArdle says Rockfish Motor Sports would love to sell you those safety accessories … as well as a go-kart or two.
    {mosimage}Worth says the company has hopes of having organized, competitive races at the track — races fueled, perhaps, by a local professional rivalry or two.
    “Maybe we can get some Hoke County deputies and some highway patrolmen out there and have a little friendly competition,” said Worth.
    There are also tentative plans to invite groups and organizations that may not have access to go-kart racing.
    “We’d like to bring in groups like handicapped children and have them ride the karts for free,” said McArdle, “… set up certain days for certain groups.”
    And to make sure the racers are well fed, Rockfish Motor Sports will have food vendors on hand to satisfy the masses. In fact, pretty much all food vendors are invited to come on out and set up — just call the folks at Rockfish Motor Sports and tell them you’re interested.
    Food vendors will probably do a pretty brisk business, as numerous go-kart aficionados have already inquired about the track.
    “We’re getting all kinds of interest since we put signs up and started advertising,’ said Worth. “One day when we over there working on the track we had 30 people come in asking about it.
    “We really think this will take off because there’s nothing like it around here,” said Worth.
    The tentative hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon; and Sunday, 2-5 p.m.
    For more information, call Rockfish Motor Sports at 237-5898, or stop by the company’s location at 10298 Fayetteville Road.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com





























 
 






 
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    The true measure of a great leader lies not in a gushing dissection of her many attributes but in weighing her impact. Sarah Palin could not undo in nine weeks what the Republican Party had done to itself for the better part of eight years, but she bought them time, paid for not just with charm, radiance and a hypnotic brand of likability but with a knack for bringing out the best in those who follow her. No less an embedded Washington centrist than John McCain was able to rouse his conservative base just by adding her to his ticket.
    With the possible exception of George W. Bush early in his presidency, she has fired up the conservative base like no one since Ronald Reagan, inspiring chivalry in conservative men, and women, who know that she is tough and can handle herself, think of her as a sister they want to protect. To them, she defines authenticity, so they are upholding not just a name but a set of shared values: common sense, rugged self-reliance, traditional family, faith and the all-American notion that the everyday denizens of our country can not just beat city hall, they can run it.
    Much to the chagrin of wordy intellectuals from the left and the right, the future of conservative leadership could well belong not to the traditional political class but to Sarah Palin and other hockey moms and Joe the Plumbers from small towns far outside the New York-Washington-Ivy League corridor, united by the Internet.
    {mosimage}Even in defeat, Palin garners more press than Vice-President Elect Biden and her star power will certainly fill arenas as a fundraiser and speaker, as it did for Senator Saxby Chambliss who won the Dec. 2 runoff in Georgia. While no one credits her alone, she undoubtedly possesses enormous political capital that pays off not just for herself but for her party. She may well run for president in 2012 with four more years as governor to season her again for the national spotlight. Or, if a popular President Obama appears headed for a second term, she could wait ‘till 2016 when she will be 52, just a kid in political years.
    The left is already writing her political epitaph, some blaming her for the GOP’s defeat, when, in truth, she brought out many conservatives who might have stayed home, uninspired by John McCain. Granted, independents and moderates expressed skepticism over her readiness for high office, but in the end, economic concerns ruled and they voted against the incumbent party, for change and for Barack Obama.
    Some naysayers, mostly on the left, concede that the governor possesses charm, good looks and a large enough following to attain success as a TV talk show host. In other words, let the big boys mold public policy, little lady, and you just stay on the sidelines and look good. They used to tell her that in Alaska, too.
    With all the press coverage of her clothes and her pregnant teen daughter, the average voter may be only vaguely aware that she has laid solid foundations for ethics reform, an energy policy designed for her state to lead America to independence from foreign oil and advocacy for special needs children. Even without a spot on a national ticket, she would be a valued part of a future Republican administration.
    Provided with ambition, Sarah Palin will endure in American life because the values, of which she is both a conduit and a cradle, will endure: faith, family, skepticism of federal power and a rugged, outdoorsy can-do spirit reminiscent of Teddy Roosevelt. Even if she never holds higher office, her spot in the annals of politics is secure. Indeed, in the pantheon of conservative greats, some merit a a military salute and some merit a firm handshake. Millions would surely stand in line to give Sarah Palin a hug, as she earned their respect and affection — not a bad start for a great legacy.

Contact David Bozeman at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    AIDS is the number one killer of African-American women aged 23-34. In the African-American community, discussing HIV is taboo. This is a conversation that the African-American community needs to have. We should be afraid. Presently, African-American women have the highest rate of HIV infections and are 23 times more likely to contract AIDS vs. other ethnic groups. A woman is twice as likely to contract HIV infection during unprotected vaginal intercourse with an infected partner. Why is this happening in our community? These women are wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, heads of household and the gatekeepers of the African-American community. It’s going to get worse if we do not do something about it. 
   {mosimage}Reasons for this epidemic inclkude unprotected sex, intravenous drug use and brothers on the “down low.” Some African-Americans face challenges that put them at a higher risk of contracting HIV: socioeconomic status, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and less access to high-quality medical care. 
   It saddens me to see this going on in our community. I feel that there is a denial that AIDS is an epidemic among African-Americans which makes people reluctant to get tested or have conversations about the disease. The issue needs to be addressed. We cannot wait on the government to help us with this epidemic and should work together to find a solution to the problem. Early diagnosis is the critical step in dealing with this crisis.
   We are now living in a society where people live double lives, or shall I say double lies, and put others at risk of becoming infected because of selfishness. These actions can destroy the spirit of a woman and cause her not to trust so easily. Women, protect yourselves and listen to your gut feeling when you are getting to know your mate. You know when something is not quite right about a person. HIV statistics among African-American women are rising and you have to take care of you. 
   The African-American community needs to acknowledge that AIDS is an issue and should talk about it. Everyone needs to be involved in the process. We need to educate one another about prevention, encourage HIV testing and provide treatment to those who need it. We have to make sure African-American women are around to take care of their children and contribute to our community. It is time to stop living in denial and do something about it.

Contact Shanessa Fenner at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    The Windsors were a part of our household when I was growing up. I saw them frequently and viewed the Windsor children who were close to my ages as my chums. Our mothers dressed us in much the same ways, and it seemed to me that we had common interests and experiences as “baby boomer” children growing up in the decades following World War II.
    It did not really register with me then that the Windsor children’s mother was Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and all its royal dominions and mine was, well, my mother.
    My father had been an Army medic in England, and he and another soldier boarded in the home of an English widow. My father, a personable and courtly Southerner, struck up a friendship with Mrs. Fox which endured until she died in the 1960s. I suppose because the two young families, the Windsors and the Highsmiths, were in the same stage of life, she sent us many books about the British Royal Family.
    The books were PR efforts to portray the Royal Family as — almost — regular folks. They were filled with wonderful and charming photographs. Some were formal portraits involving crowns, scepters, and robes trimmed with ermine. Most though, were family scenes, concocted I am now sure to garner and keep the affection and respect of the Queen’s British subjects, not unlike the slightly later Camelot photographs of President Kennedy’s young family. The Queen’s son Charles, who was actually a cute little boy and her daughter Anne who had Shirley Temple-like yellow curls, were pictured swinging, playing with their dogs, and, occasionally, getting into some slight mischief.
    I loved those books and remember once asking my father to write Mrs. Fox requesting that she invite Charles and Anne to visit us in Fayetteville. I imagined that they would enjoy running around with the children and dogs in our Haymount neighborhood as much as my sister and I did.
    Needless to say, they never showed.
    {mosimage}There has been much water over the dam since then for both the Windsors and the Highsmiths, so I watched with great interest the various celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday last week. Her people are very fond of her, and so am I.
I will not bore you with my “water over the dam” experiences, but think for a moment about the Queen who has remained unruffled and serene for decades despite everything from the final dismantling of the once-global British empire to the toe-sucking antics of my imaginary playmates, her precious children, and their wacky spouses.
    Think of having to meet with prime ministers ranging from the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, to the more freewheeling Tony Blair — once a week, every week whether she liked them or approved of their policies and without legal authority to affect what they do.
    Imagine hearing a recording along with the rest of the world of your son and heir to the throne telling a woman he is not married to that he would like to be “in her trousers” or hearing your-daughter-in law, the woman who would be Queen, confess on worldwide television to an affair with her riding instructor.
    Think of presiding over the final days of the once-great Empire and the rise of the European Union. Imagine what it felt like to see the monetary system which bore your face and those of your ancestors on pounds, shillings, and pence morph into the drab but convenient Euro.
    Imagine watching your grandchildren referred to as “studs” and hoping they will get themselves under control more effectively — or at least more privately — than their parents did.
    Queen Elizabeth has done this and more with dignity and a constant and unwavering hairdo that could have been styled at the Downtowner beauty parlor on Franklin Street in 1965.
    I have a favorite Queen Elizabeth story which, accurate or not, sums up what I think of as her true self.
I heard it from my walking chum who, like Queen Elizabeth, owns and loves Corgis. It seems that one day the Queen was walking her brood, with her security detail at a discreet English distance. One of her subjects came up to the monarch and observed, “My, you certainly look like the Queen.” To which Her Majesty, Queen of the United Kingdom and Defender of the Faith smiled and replied calmly and sweetly, “That’s reassuring.”
    If my mother were living she would be a few years older than Queen Elizabeth and I suspect she would have much the same hairdo and, I hope, the same serenity which comes from long enduring the human experience, be we royalty or commoner.
    The Queen’s celebrations last week included gatherings with her family and with 99 other Britons born the same day as she. I have no idea what anyone said, but if I had been there, I would have wished her many returns of the day and given her the Dicksons’ special birthday greeting, coined by a toddler who could not quite get it all out.
    “Hap to you, your Majesty.”

Contact Margaret Dickson at  editor@upandcomingweekly.com

    Remember this song? Cha cha chains... Cha cha chains... Cha cha chains, chains, chains, chains... Set me freeeeeeee! Sometimes it is hard to get that tune out of my head as I drive around Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Take a look around. What do you see? Chains (chain stores). Everywhere! Surely, we must rank at the top of the list for having more national chain stores per capita than any other North Carolina city.
    What a dubious honor.
    As our national economy patiently awaits for relief, and unemployment rates continue their rise and the threat of higher local property taxes looms on our horizons, it’s time to remind everyone that we should focus more attention, shopping and money on our own community. Shop local! We should support local commerce and do business with local organizations and merchants. We should throw away the foreign catalogs, toll free numbers and cyberspace bargains and search out products and professional services provided by local neighbors in our own backyard. Nothing is more dependable, beneficial and reliable than homegrown products and professional services. We should give them the opportunity to do business because local merchants have already invested in the local economy.
    {mosimage}I know the big chain and box stores do provide some jobs. However, these are usually entry level, part-time and pay minimum wage without health or insurance benefits. Local merchants make a commitment and investment into the  community of their unique talents, time and money. These independents have a passion for being unique and for serving all aspects of the community. It is these people and businesses that make our community very special and give us flair, color and that unique personality. Besides, for every chain and box store business in the county there is a local merchant providing the same product or service while adding value and stability to our local economy. You will find many of those people marketing and promoting their services in our community paper. And why not? The key word here is community. I would list all of the local businesses if I had the space but unfortunately I do not. However, it makes a fun game to match the local merchants to the chains. Afterwards, you have a great list of venues to visit and to recommend to your friends, neighbors and visitors. A few examples of local retailers include: Bullards (for furniture), Quality Sound (for electronics), Bella Villa and Pierros (for pizza), Elle’s for women’s fashion and Ed’s Tire and Pro (for tires).
    Pretty cool, huh? I could go on, and on, and on, but I think you get my point. Chains and box stores contribute little to our local culture. However, local businesses and the people who operate them are the foundation of our community. Support them. In the future we will be doing more to showcase, support and thank these people for their commitment. We hope you will do the same.
    Oh, by the way, don’t look for a copy of this “free”community newspaper in any of the national or chain stores. Their corporate policy doesn’t allow them. Hmmmmmm? Isn’t that the point!
    Thank you for reading.

Contact Bill Bowman at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    Hamlet brandishing a cell phone?
    Guildenstern and Rosencrantz strapped with pearl-handled .38s?
    Alas, poor Yorick, I thought I knew one of Shakespeare’s greatest works so well; however, there appears to be more things going on in Sanford with the Temple Theatre’s production of Hamlet“than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
    Beginning Jan. 8 and going through Jan. 25, Shakespeare lovers will be treated to a production unlike any they have probably ever seen as Hamlet is modernized, complete with all the trappings of the 21st century, including the aforementioned cell phone and firearms, as well as a multimedia presentation never dreamt of by the stage hands working the old Globe Theatre.
    {mosimage}Temple Theatre has partnered with Washington, D.C.-based Cyburbia Productions to present new media displays designed to enhance the impact of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. This twist on Hamlet marries theater with film. Images on screens will be scattered across the stage, movies are presented to the court, and an entire chapel is created with the magic of digital video. 
    Rick St. Peter, the play’s director, originally staged this version of Hamlet at his home theater, Actors Guild of Lexington, Ky. 
    “This will be a very different production of Hamlet,” said St. Peter. “As the action unfolds on the stage, there will be video and animations accompanying the play. We will be taking one of the great canons of Western literature and combining it with a 21st century production. Watching this version of Hamlet makes the audience feel as if it is inside a live movie.”
    Before all you Shakespeareophiles doth protest too much over a seemingly heretical redoing of this great tragedy, know that this is not the first time the Bard’s works have been altered to reflect modern times. Take for instance the 1996 film version of Romeo and Juliet, which was set in present day Verona Beach, Calif., featuring gun-toting Montagues and Capulets, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the titular roles. Also, Shakespeare’s Othello was retold in the 2000 flick O, with Mekhi Phifer as a high school basketball star named Odin who travels down the primrose path of Shakespearean tragedy in the modern South.
    And while this modernized riff on Shakespeare’s tragic warhorse may be new to folks around here, St. Peter is an old pro, having pulled off the play numerous times before, though, according to St. Peter, never with such a talented cast.
    “This is probably the best cast I’ve had,” said St. Peter. “They are sensational. Theater goers are in for a real treat.”
    The cast is pared down to 10 actors, including Temple favorites Tom Dalton and Michael Brocki; St. Peter also cast Adam Luckey, who portrayed Hamletin the original production at Actors Guild of Lexington.
    In addition to retelling the story of the murder of Hamlet’s father and the title character’s bittersweet revenge, St. Peter and his cast have made a work that is dense with symbolism and metaphor a little more “real.”
    “The Temple Theatre’s board of directors watched one of our final rehearsals and they said they loved it because they could understand it,” said St. Peter. “It’s such great material … It’s the ultimate ghost story.”
    And remember, all you folks concerned that this isn’t your father’s Shakespeare, when you come right down to it, the play’s the thing.
    Hamletwill be performed at the Temple Theatre in Sanford from Jan. 8-25. Show times are Thursday 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. (Student matinees Friday, Jan. 16 & 23 at 9:30 a.m.) For ticket prices and more information, call the Temple Theatre at (919) 774-4155, or the Web site www.templeshows.com.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com 

    In 1994, California transplant Lynn Pryor opened a theater in the basement of his Fayetteville home.
    “The first season was a short one; we were on the ground floor of my house and seating 40 people,” said Pryor, artistic director and founder of the Gilbert Theater. For the next eight years, performances were at the house — five plays a year (sometimes more) with three inside the house and two in the garden. 
    “We did Shakespeare and children’s plays,” said Pryor. “Many of our plays would not have been seen here otherwise.”
    {mosimage}Next came three years of performing at the Art’s Council building before moving into the current location on Bow Street.
    From the theater’s first days, Pryor had every intention of building something with staying power — so much so that he gave it a name that connected it with the city. 
    “When I decided to move here and I saw this space I knew that I could start a theater and I knew that I wanted to associate is somehow with Marquis de Lafayette,” said Pryor. “I can’t even remember what it is now but I decided that is what was going to be the name of the theater.
    “Then, the next night I thought ‘Are you crazy? Do you want to spend the next 25 years telling people how to pronounce it... how to spell it?’” said Pryor. And then I looked at his (Lafayette’s) full name and he had four or five Christian names and the one that his family used was Gilbert — and that is how it is directly related to our city’s namesake.”
    Of course, many things went right for the Gilbert Theater from the beginning; however, Pryor gives ultimate credit to those who have played a part over the years, naming not only the great actors, producers, business sponsors and artistic supporters, but also the audiences that have come to be entertained.
    “People here are so marvelous, so kind and generous,” he said, comparing it to the analogy of a snowball rolling downhill. “Very soon I could see that it would last, given the community and the commitment that I had from people that were coming to the heart of it. After the first season or two I could see the trajectory of it.”
    On the theater’s Web site it reads, “Gilbert Theater: Where the process is as important as the product.” Pryor is serious about that motto, recalling acting companies in other theaters where all that mattered was opening night — no matter what the wreckage might be in terms of people saying they would never work there again.  
    “I want this to be the absolute opposite here,” said Pryor. “I want people to return because they are treated with respect and have a time of growth and collaboration and fulfilling artistic impulses.”
    Unfortunately, it is still a few weeks too early for Pryor to give many details about what is in store for the coming season, though he did offer a few clues.
    “There is going to be a premier original musical... if all goes well,” said Pryor. “A second musical and our Christmas Caroland then a contemporary play that I saw in London a couple of years ago and knew would be perfect for us.
“There will be a very, very humorous comedy,” he added. “It is just a couple of weeks too early to spill the beans right now.”

Contact Stephanie Crider at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    If we all could “see” music as a shimmering palate of colors, chances are a cool sax riff by Charlie “Bird” Parker or a smooth solo from George Benson’s guitar would probably resemble one of Eric McRay’s paintings.
    Talking in the vernacular of a jazz musician, McRay describes his art as “improvisational.”
    “Improvisation is a big part of my art,” said McRay, “just like a jazz musician. My art is a random type of expression. For me, painting is pulling all these notes together into one piece. In my next life, I’m coming back as a musician.”
    Thankfully, for art lovers, McRay is living in the moment rather than some future existence as a New Orleans trumpeter, allowing us to be treated to his paintings, some of which will be on display at the Fayetteville Museum of Art from Jan. 17-March 8 as part of a two-person exhibit entitled Visual Allegories. The other featured artist is Chandra Cox.
    Both McRay and and Cox are African-Americans, appropros for the Visual Allegories exhibit, which will compare the artists’ work with utilitarian African objects that are part of the FMoA’s Lewis Pate collection.
McRay’s paintings — many of which are centered around jazz, as well as North Carolina landscapes — are full of “allegories” and metaphors... at least sometimes.
    {mosimage}“I put a lot of myself into my art,” said McRay, who owns McRay Studios in Raleigh. “I use my knowledge of art history and African-American history to try and connect my art to the human experience.
    “But sometimes,” said McRay, in perhaps a mild swipe at learned art scholars who overanalyze and psychoanalyze every brush stroke, “sometimes... a tree is just a tree.”
    Speaking of trees, despite his deep love of jazz, which is the subject of many of his paintings, including some works that will be on display at the FMoA, part of McRay’s continuing maturity as an artist includes more landscapes.
“Art is all about change,” said McCray. “I painted a lot of jazz when I was into popular music and hung out with jazz musicians and writers. Now, I’m painting more landscapes because I’m traveling more and meeting all these ‘well-to-do’  folks who live on the coast and have beautiful houses.”
    But fear not jazzbos, you’ll get more than your fix of McCray’s illustrated representation of your favorite music at the Visual Allegories exhibit, especially in such works as the collage piece “Late Night Jazz.”
    You’ll also be treated to a variety of artistic mediums by Cox, a practicing artist, image-maker who works in a range of mediums from oil and acrylic to digital media.
    Her work has been presented in numerous museums and galleries around the country such as the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Her artworks in public collections include North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University and The University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She illustrated the children’s book Christmas Makes Me Think, published by Lee and Low of New York.
Among her awards are the Artist-in-Residence Fellowship at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, Calif. Cox also received the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1985 and 1995, and the Undergraduate Alumni Distinguished Professor Award in 1988.
    You can get an early look at the work by these two artists at the museum’s premier party on Jan. 16 from 6-8 p.m. There will also be some audio, thanks to Chapel Hill band Physics of Meaning. Daniel Hart, leader and chief songwriter for Physics of Meaning, has contributed to such groups as St. Vincent and the critically acclaimed Polyphonic Spree.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com 

    Weren’t George W. Bush’s years great? Didn’t you have a lot of fun? Bet you are better off now than you were in 2000. Everything was really swell for eight glorious years. I get all misty eyed remembering the dandy times we had under the Great Decider. Watching him reading “My Pet Goat” on 9/11, faking weapons of mass destruction, invading Iraq, occupying Iraq, dodging shoes in Iraq, ratting out a CIA agent, watching New Orleans drown, letting Dick Cheney shred civil liberties, melting down stock markets, vanishing retirement savings, bailing out crooks on Wall Street. Those were the good old days. I really liked Cheney’s theory that in order to save the Constitution it was necessary to destroy the Constitution. The Bush years were more fun than a barrel of rabid monkeys. All in all, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s goofy director Brownie during Katrina, President Bush has done a heckuva a job. We’re gonna miss him.
    When Bush ran for office way back in 2000 he promised to be a “uniter.” That may have been the only true thing he said in eight years. With the help of Karl “Boy Genius” Rove, Bush did unite America — against him and the Republican party. A recent poll has 76 percent of Americans united in thinking the country is going in the wrong direction. It takes a special kind of President to get 76 percent of Americans to agree on anything but W managed to do it. Thank you President Bush for bringing us all together, even if it ultimately will be standing next to each other in bread lines.
    By the time this column appears, W’s reign of error will be down to a mere fortnight. Hold onto your food stamps though, there’s no telling what wild and crazy things he will be able to pull off during his last two weeks in office. Remember, it’s always darkest before the storm. If we are all lucky, he’ll just hang out in Crawford. If we’re not so lucky, he’ll have time to bomb Iran or North Korea as a going away gift to the world. Who knows? Maybe he’ll just bomb Bermuda. We should be able to win a war with Bermuda in his last two weeks so he can have a real “Mission Accomplished” moment. We certainly want to send him off in a cloud of positive self-esteem.
    {mosimage}Pondering the end of Bush’s term, I am reminded of the subtle quote in 1974 by Nicholas Von Hoffman who was referring to President Nixon right before Nixon resigned in disgrace. Nick felt it was time for Nixon to go and called out Nixon as “a dead rat on America’s kitchen floor” that needed to be removed. This comment caused a bit of controversy, and got Nick fired from 60 Minutes.
    Despite our financial gloom, all is not lost. Skateboarders in California have discovered a silver lining to the clouds of the foreclosure storms. It turns out that many of the rapidly multiplying abandoned foreclosed homes in California have swimming pools. These swimming pools when emptied of water make excellent skate board ramps. The skaters locate the foreclosed homes with pools on realtor Internet sites and take pumps with them to empty the pools so they can skate. This serves two useful purposes — skaters get exercise and the pools get emptied. The undrained pools at abandoned houses tend to fill up with green slime, deceased animals and West Nile virus carrying mosquitos causing some interesting Third World public health hazards to occur right in American suburbia. Double yikes!
    Skaters can’t do it all though. There are too many abandoned pools for them to drain. What we need is a core of workers to drain America’s green slime-filled pools. Fortunately, America does have a group of individuals trained as financial blood suckers whose talents could be easily switched to sucking out pool scum. We could use the CEO’s of the Wall Street investment banks who came up with the brilliant derivatives schemes that resulted in our current economic Armageddon to suck out the green pools. Provide the wizards at Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns and other financial outfits a case of flexible straws, put orange jump suits on them and let them start sucking out scum from abandoned pools.

Contact Pitt Dickey at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    Award winning political cartoonist Dennis Draughon — whose illustrations will be on display at Gallery 208 beginning Jan. 22 — says his career path was strewn with peanuts.
    “When I was in the fifth grade I used to draw Snoopy and I would mail the drawings to Peanuts creator Charles Schultz,” said Draughon via a telephone interview from his Raleigh home. “He sent me letters encouraging me to keep it up. I kept one of those framed letters hanging on my wall for years.”
    Though Draughon never met the late, great creator of Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Pigpen, Schultz’s early interest in the artist as a young man paved the way for Draughon to produce biting, satirical cartoons that have appeared in countless newspapers. You probably know him best by his illustrations that appear regularly on the editorial page of The Fayetteville Observer. His work is also published weekly in The Durham News and other media outlets affiliated with the Capitol Press Association.
    {mosimage}Despite being known as a “cartoonist,” Draughon’s work should still be considered art, said Tom Grubb, executive director of the Fayetteville Museum of Art.
    “This is an important exhibit because it is a way to point out that cartooning is part of the visual arts,” said Grubb. “Political cartoons show what is going on in the world around us.”
    While Draughon earned his early illustrating chops with drawings of the “famous World War I flying ace” battling the Red Baron from atop a doghouse, Draughon attributes his success to a specific failure: Draughon failed the physical exam for entrance into the Air Force Academy, which led him to enroll at North Carolina State University, where he studied aerospace engineering, history and visual design. While enrolled at State, he first dipped his feet into the world of ink and political satire, spending eight years as the editorial cartoonist for the student newspaper, The Technician.
    And, in a stroke of pure synchronicity, the man who sponsored Draughon in his failed attempt at joining the Air Force would later become one of the cartoonist’s favorite targets when he put pen to paper: the late Sen. Jesse Helms.
“I’ve had friendly relations with many of my targets,” said Draughon. “Senator Helms was a great help to me. And even though we could not be further apart politically, after we met I found that I really liked him a lot.”
Draughon says he never allows personal feelings to come into play when he draws one of his politically charged cartoons.
    “When I worked for the Scranton Times Tribune in the ‘90s, I made the city’s mayor a frequent target,” said Draughon. “I liked the guy personally, but I felt he had no business being a mayor. I drew him with really big ears... a very goofy persona. But we had lunch together all the time. It’s never personal... It’s just business.”
    Closer to home, Draughon has made Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne his target more than once.
For his part, Chavonne — former general manager of The Fayetteville Observer — says he enjoys Draughon’s caricatures.
    “It comes with the territory,” said Chavonne. “I enjoy his work, even when I’m the brunt of it. We’re lucky to have such a talented cartoonist drawing for The Fayetteville Observer.”
    Draughon says folks with exaggerated physical features are easier to draw. His all-time favorite subjects include a couple of presidents — Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
    “Pretty people are usually harder to draw,” said Draughon. “If they don’t have a big nose or big ears, then those characters don’t come easy to me.”
    While Draughon says he has “no regrets” about anyone he’s ever lampooned on the editorial page, he says that a certain President-elect causes a pause in the pens of many cartoonists.
    “A lot of cartoonists are hesitant about how they draw Obama because of the racial connotations,” said Draughon. “Mainly because most of them are white. There aren’t a whole lot of women or minorities in this business.”
    Actually, there aren’t a whole lot of cartoonists in the editorial cartoon business. Draughon says the proliferation of the Internet and other mass media has reduced the number of full-time political cartoonists from 300 to about 80.
Despite the slim odds of achieving success as an editorial cartoonist in the current climate, whenever aspiring illustrators send him samples of their work Draughon remembers the early guidance of Schultz — and other mentors such as well-known cartoonist Doug Marlette.
    “I always offer these up and coming cartoonists encouragement,” said Draughon. “Just like I received from Schultz all those years ago.”
    And despite the limited number of cartoonists currently harpooning political figures with a sharpened quill, Draughon feels there may be more opportunities for cartoonists in the future, thanks to the same device that has submarined many of his contemporaries: “The Internet may provide an outlet for more and more cartoonists,” said Draughon.
    However, Draughon advises would-be cartoonists to follow their art with their heart, not their wallets.
    After all, he started out working for peanuts.
    The premiere party for the Draughon exhibit will be Jan. 22 from 5-7 p.m. at Gallery 208 in the Up and Coming Weekly offices, 208 Rowan St.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com 

(Editor’s Note: Margaret is beginning a several week visit to India, and has elected to print some of her favorite columns from the past. We hope you enjoy them.)           

    We have just come through the season of giving, and I am always humbled by just how giving we Americans are. In 2005, we dug into our pockets to help victims of natural disasters ranging from tsunamis to hurricanes to earthquakes.     We went to far-flung locations to provide physical assistance and moral support. We also gave to our local causes even though many of us had already blown through our budgets for charitable giving.
    Americans are a generous people.
    We can also be incredibly rude.
    A cousin and I traveled in southeast Asia last fall, a wonderful and memorable experience in all kinds of ways. Airline travel in that part of the world was an unexpected delight. Thai Airways even had vases of orchids in the onboard restrooms, but the service really shone. Lovely and slender young women in uniforms patterned after traditional Thai dress floated down the aisles with bottles of wine, inquiring whether we would like more red or white.
    {mosimage}I know, of course, that Americans no longer tolerate employment requirements about gender, weight and makeup, but we do tolerate what seems to me an increasing level of rudeness in our culture.
    This was brought home to my cousin and me several times on our trip. The first was an American man who loudly berated airline personnel in Bangkok because our late trans-Pacific flight caused him to miss his connection. He shouted at counter agents, who, of course, had nothing to do with the delayed flight, demanding that they buy him a train ticket to his next stop and give him a meal voucher even though we had just had a large breakfast on the plane. Everyone within earshot was embarrassed.
    Another tilt on the rude-o-meter came once we were back in the United States on a domestic airline on the way to the East Coast. A flight attendant — a middle-aged woman with a loud voice and dirty hair — was selling earphones for $2 to passengers who wanted to watch a movie or listen to music. The man seated in front of me had been coughing and as the earphone-hawking attendant passed his seat he asked her politely for something to drink. Her reaction left him — and me — speechless.
    “Does this look like a beverage cart to you?” she snapped, adding that she would deal with drinks after she finished selling the earphones.
    I do not know whether that poor fellow ever got his water, but I do know that in addition to safety training, that airline should consider bringing on Miss Manners as a consultant.
    None of us really know whether Americans were more courteous and polite in past generations, but I suspect that our “Me! Me! Me!” culture of today with the emphasis on individual rights and self-fulfillment has created, at best, less sensitivity for the feelings of others, and, at worst, a lot of truly rude people.
    I hear cell phones go off in meetings and in movie theaters. I see people all the time interrupting actual face-to-face conversations to take cell phone calls, leaving others to stand by and listen to personal, even intimate discussions with who-knows-who on the other end of the wireless call. I deal with surly store clerks who begrudge me their time and effort even though I may buy some item or service for which they might receive a commission. I receive emails from people who write things I doubt they would ever say in person. I see motorists make obscene gestures and mouth curses to others drivers.
    The list of rudeness is endless, and I know you see it, too.
    Just out of curiosity, I did a search on the word “manners.” My grandmother called manners the glue of society and said they are what keep us from killing each other. The search did not quote my grandmother, but it did turn up several insights on the concepts of manners and of rudeness. Eric Hoffer observes that “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” Margaret Walker and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had similar takes. They said, respectively, “Friends and good manners will carry you where money won’t go,” and “Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.” George Bernard Shaw’s Henry Higgins tells his waif-in-training-to-be-a-lady that “The great secret,     Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manners for all human souls.” Emily Post, the Miss Manners of her day, put it this way: “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners no matter what fork you use.”
    My favorite, though, comes from an unknown author and it pretty much sums up the concept of manners for me.
    “Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you — not because they are nice, but because you are.”

    Contact Margaret Dickson at editor@upandcomingweekly.com 

    At the outset of 2008, much of the nation’s attention was focused on two things: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the presidential elections. As the election got closer, the war receded to the background and the economy and gas prices took center stage. In the opening minutes of 2009, politics and the economy will still be the most important issues to many in the nation — Cumberland County is no exception.
    As 2008 got underway, both the county and the City of Fayetteville were focused on water — clean drinking water. Residents in western Fayetteville were faced with contaminated wells, as were citizens in the western portion of the city. Both governments began researching efforts to get water to the citizens in the affected areas. In Fayetteville, PWC expanded water services to residents in their areas, and just a week before the end of 2008, the county worked out a plan to provide water to county residents via an agreement with neighboring counties.
   {mosimage}In January 2008, the Crown Coliseum celebrated its 10th anniversary with a sold-out concert featuring Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire. The concert was the first of several sold-out shows at the coliseum throughout 2008. For much of the year, local resident Paul Beard was at the helm of the Crown; as 2008 drew to a close, Beard, along with marketing director Wind Lawson and Fair Manager Hubert Bullard, came under fire, with Beard and Lawson resigning their positions. Bullard was informed his contract would not be renewed. Going into 2009, the county is looking at a national search to find new management for the facility.
    The state of the less fortunate in our community was discussed throughout much of the beginning of 2008. A new panhandling ordinance passed by the City of Fayetteville in January 2008, drew approval from some segments of the community, but disapproval from homeless advocates. Those who work with the homeless on a daily basis argued that the panhandling ban would have adverse affects on the homeless in the community. At the same time, they took the opportunity to bring the real problems of homelessness in the city to the forefront, asking the city to put as much of a focus on homelessness as it did on panhandling.
    Parking also became an issue, as city consultants brought a comprehensive parking plan to downtown. The plan focused on the cost of parking — not just to the city — but also to those who use parking downtown. As 2009 winds down, not much as has been achieved in this arena, but it’s an area the city will have to tackle sooner rather than later.
    2008 saw the approval of a new landmark in downtown — the N.C. State Veterans Park. In February, the city unveiled plans for the $15 million park. It caused a great deal of excitement in the community, as well as controversy. Part of the park’s plan called for commercial development in Rowan Street Park. Local residents appeared en masse to fight that aspect of the development. Their voice was heard, and with the exception of the Rowan Park development, the Veterans Park proposal moved forward, gaining funding through the N.C. Legislature. The city has received the first half of the funding for the park, and has begun work on plans.
    With veterans gaining much-deserved recognition, a controversy at the VA Medical Center also gained headlines. At the center of the controversy was a debate over the placement of religious paraphernalia in the chapel. A VA administrator from Virginia ordered the removal of the religious accouterments from the chapel, which resulted in the resignation from the center of its chaplain.
    In April, the city took a critical look at the city’s transportation needs. The transit task force tackled the issue of improving the city’s transit system, which could only be described as substandard. With the work of the task force and the hiring of a new management staff, the transit system made strides over 2008. New buses were put into service, routes were shortened and changed, and money — a lot of money — was added to the transit system budget. That, according to city leaders, was only a drop in the bucket of what is really needed to improve the system.     “We are only trying to get to the state average,” said Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne.
    The city also took a hard look at its appearance, with Fayetteville Beauty, a volunteer project headed by City Council Bobby Hurst, making the city’s appearance important.
    Honoring the men and women of the community was also important in 2008 — from the Field of Honor to an AUSA Welcome Home Concert to the Army’s Army Fayetteville embraced its relationship to the military and showed its support to the men and women in uniform.
    As the summer got in full swing, Fayetteville, like the rest of the nation, was held captive by the rising gas prices. With gas near $4 a gallon, many in the community stayed home and took advantage of the many community events sponsored by nonprofits in the community. At the center of many of these events was Festival Park. As the year wound down, Festival Park was still central to community discussion –— but those discussion revolved around the proposed construction of the new Fayetteville Museum of Art. With the year winding down, the Museum Task Force, appointed by the city, took a break for the holidays. When it reconvenes in 2009, the task force will again tackle the finances of the museum as it relates to the sustainability of the facility.
    In the political arena, it was a year of firsts: the first African-American president was elected; the first female North Carolina governor prepares to step into office; and in Cumberland County, a female — Jeannette Council — took over as chairman of the county commissioners.

Contact Janice Burton at editor@upandcomingweekly.com















 
 






 
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    Can you spell “success?”
    That’s the word of the day if you’re planning on attending The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Crown Theatre on Jan. 6.
    The Tony-Award winning musical comedy has been wildly successful, earning critical raves across the country. The production follows six students — all in varying stages of pubescent awkwardness — as they attempt to win the spelling bee, a victory that will earn the winner a trophy and a $200 savings bond, plus a trip to Washington D.C., for the national finals. Along the way, the child spellers (played by adults) learn the true meanings of life lessons such as the importance of self-awareness and that winning, while worth striving for, is not the end all and be all.
    {mosimage}It is also something of an audience participation gig, as four volunteer audience members are pulled onto the stage to “compete” in the spelling bee. Fair warning: The words doled out to the volunteers are nigh on impossible to spell, so be prepared for a little consonant confusion if you’re lucky (or unlucky) enough to be chosen as one of the four.
    The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is based on C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an original play by The Farm improv group in New York City. The musical had its world premiere production in July 2004 at Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, Mass. Under the direction of James Lapine, Putnam County Spelling Bee officially opened off-Broadway on Feb. 7, 2005, at Second Stage Theatre, where it ran from Jan. 11 through March 20, 2005.
    Critics were effusive about the production, with The New York Times’critic writing, “Can you spell i-r-r-e-s-i-s-t-i-b-l-e? Putnam County Spelling Bee is riotously funny and remarkably ingenious. Gold stars all around.”
    And a critic for the Wall Street Journalcalled it, “perfect in every possible way — that rarity of rarities, a super-smart musical that is also a bona fide crowd-pleaser. An ingenious blend of simplicity and sophistication, it’s not merely funny, it’s wise.”
    Actor Ryan Goodale, who plays Leaf Coneybear, said that he was a fan of the show long before he became a member of the cast.
    “First of all, it’s hysterically funny,” said Goodale. “I saw it three times on Broadway before I even auditioned for the touring company just because I loved it so much. The other thing is that it’s a William Finn show, which means that it has a serious undertone. Later in the piece, the things that the kids are going through come out and the songs become more heartwarming and poignant. You end up caring for them because what they say — or sing — is so honest.”
    The 25th Annual Putnam County County Spelling Bee will play at the Crown Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 6, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $25, $30, $35 and $45. For more information, call the Crown at (910) 438-4100, or check it out via Internet at www.crowncoliseum.com.

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com

    At the outset of 2008, the newly elected Fayetteville City Council signed the Fayetteville Forward Pledge. The idea behind the pledge was multifaceted. It was designed to establish a way for the city council to do business, but also to show city residents they were serious about tackling tough issues.
    During the first 100 days, the council tackled a number of issues and in doing so, changed the way many in the community looked at local government. Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne sees that change as one of many important changes that happened in the city over the course of 2008. Chavonne said that much of what was accomplished by the city during the year wasn’t high profile, but was important nonetheless.
    Chavonne explained that 2008 could be looked at as the “product development stage” for the city. “We know we have a lot of opportunities facing us, and in 2008, we did the things we had to do to get us ready for those opportunities,” he said.
    {mosimage}For Chavonne, many of the projects tackled by the city during this “product development stage” came from an article he read on a blog. “I carry this article in my wallet. It was written by a military spouse who had lived in Fayetteville, and was facing the opportunity of coming back. She wrote that she would never come back here until the city was a more attractive, more peaceful city. That really struck me. All the things we’ve done over this past year — implementing a recycling program, improving our transit system, tearing down 100 dilapidated buildings, raising development standards — have all been a part of the effort to improve the product... What we are as a community.”
    Chavonne said it is important not to lose sight of the fact that these projects are not just window dressing designed to attract people to the community, but rather they are designed to make the city more attractive, cleaner and more peaceful for everyone who lives in the community.
    Some of the not so sexy but important projects tackled by the city in 2008 include the finalization of funding for the $215 sewer extension without a tax increase or PWC rate increase; the establishment of a municipal influence area to control growth and establish standards for it, which will keep the city from having to retrofit in the future.
    “We can’t just accept growth, we have to grow smarter,” he said. “By having these plans in place, we can grow smarter.”
    He noted that for more than 20 years Fayetteville could not annex, and development occurred in a haphazard manner, with subdivisions served by septic tanks and wells, no sidewalks or other urban standards. It is those areas of uncontrolled growth that are now causing problems for the city.
    He noted that the city has had its share of challenges over the year and expects many of them to flow into 2009. He said the biggest challenge is, and will continue to be, lack of resources to do what needs to be done, particularly as it relates to BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure.)
    “We are going to find it difficult to find money to build the schools and roads that we are going to need,” he said, pointing to the current fight for funding for the planned I-295 loop. “We can’t lose that funding, and we need millions in school construction.”
    He noted that key to the city’s success this past year, and in the future, is improved citizen participation in government. He noted that the task forces organized by the city to tackle issues like recycling, transit and now the museum, have been important in resolving the issues.
    He said that the continued growth of downtown is also a bright spot in the city’s future. In the past 10 years, more than $67 million has been invested in downtown. In the next five years if you count the Hope VI grant and the N.C. State Veterans Park, close to $200 million will be spent in the area. “What’s going to happen in the next five years is going to be huge,” said Chavonne. “We are going to have some challenges — like parking — but we will make it happen.”
    He said the success of downtown’s revitalization has not gone unnoticed. “We are getting frequent calls from people who have heard about downtown who want to be a part of it. We are getting people coming with ideas that we didn’t get three years ago,” he said. “This is an exciting time for our community and we are going to do our best to make it a reality.”

Contact Janice Burton at editor@upandcomingweekly.com

    Times are tough... and they’re probably going to get tougher.
    You don’t need a politician to tell you that.
    However, N.C. State Sen. Tony Rand drove home the point about just how heated an economic battle we’re waging when he spoke at Fayetteville Technical Community College on Dec. 15.
    Rand was at FTCC as part of a program that presented an overview of the North Carolina state budget and an economic forecast for 2009 — discussing issues affecting the nation, the state and Cumberland County.
    Rand placed much of the blame for the economic woes squarely at the feet of unscrupulous lenders.
    “Why people put people in a position to pay mortgages they couldn’t afford, I don’t understand,” said Rand. “Well, actually, I do understand greed.”
    According to statistics provided by the North Carolina Justice Center, in 2007 there were more than 49,000 foreclosure filings in North Carolina. In an attempt to dam this flood of foreclosures, Rand said the state allocated $12 million during the past session to help people in danger of losing their homes.
    “The problem now is knowing how to negotiate with mortgagers because no one knows who owns these mortgages,” said Rand.
    Rand also made a dig at the White House’s outgoing Republican administration, saying bad financial policies had led to the problems on Wall Street; he also excoriated the CEOs who oversaw the plunge in the stock market.
    “Lehman Brothers paid this guy $50 million to put the company into bankruptcy,” said Rand. “I would have done it for $5 million.”
    {mosimage}Despite the hard times, Rand said all is not gloomy. He said the state’s general assembly will continue to work hard to fund education (school funding takes up 60 percent of the state’s budget), while continuing to reform a state mental health system he called “intolerable.”
    Rand also pointed out that with the current budget the state had:
    •Expanded health choices for children without health insurance, growing the program by more than 130,000 children;
    •Provided funding to low income, uninsured rural people;
    •Increased the Earned Income Tax Credit from 3.5 percent to 5 percent.
    “This upcoming session of the legislature will present problems but it is also an opportunity,” said Rand. “There are no more sacred cows. And as we come out of this economic distress we will have a more efficient government. I liken it to pruning an orchard; your yield will go down if you don’t prune. And, we have a balanced budget and we have a Triple AAA bond coverage; we are one of three states that has the state pension plan completely funded.”
    Despite Rand’s optimism about the coming year, Elaine Meija, director of the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center for the North Carolina Justice Center says more needs to be done — especially here in Cumberland County.
    “The child poverty rate in Cumberland County is 20 percent... statewide average is 16 percent,” said Meija. “The overall poverty rate in Cumberland County is 17 percent, while the state rate is 14.3 percent; 38.6 percent of county residents were low income in 2007, meaning their incomes were less than twice the federal poverty level ($21,027 for a family of four).”
    Louisa Warren, senior policy advocate for the North Carolina Justice Center gave a laundry list of what needs to be done in 2009 to correct some of these problems, both across the state and in Cumberland County.
    “Among other things, we need to provide child care subsidies to working families to help with the high cost of raising children,” said Warren. “And for the economic stimulus plan to work we need additional weeks of unemployment insurance and a temporary boost to food stamp benefits; we also need investment in the national housing trust fund and local funds to support affordable housing construction for the economically disadvantaged.
    “We’re in tough times and will be facing tough times over the next few years,” said Warren. “But there is hope that the new administration in Washington will address some of these problems.”

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com




 
 

    Dr. Jeanette Council stands on the precipice of an historic 2009.
    The freshly minted chairman of the Cumberland County Commissioners has achieved a position of status that she — an African-American woman — says she never would have believed possible 25 years ago.
And the fact that the president elect is also of African-American descent has been the icing on her New Year’s cake.
    “I have always been positive about changes in politics and society,’ said Council, “but I never dreamed all this would have happened in America in 2008. When Obama spoke in 2004 we were all mesmerized by his ideas and to see his vision come to fruition has been a wonderful thing.
    {mosimage}“As for myself, being elected chairman of the Cumberland County Commissioners, of course it’s an honor to selected by your peers,” said Council. “But at the same time, it is an awesome, awesome responsibility to represent the views of the commissioners and to make the right decisions in doing so.”
    While Council is pleased and optimistic about the recent displays of equality shown in the national and local political processes, she is concerned about a number of issues that will confront the county in 2009, citing the economy and clean water as priorities.
    “We don’t know what funds the state government will withhold,” said Council. “So of course the economy is an uncertain thing. And we’ve got to concentrate on providing clean water forevery one of the citizens living in Cumberland County.”
    The cost of a countywide water system has been estimated at $650,000. Four of the counties bordering Cumberland — Robeson, Harnett, Bladen and Hoke — have countywide water systems. However, those counties are so poor they have received substantial aid from the state to implement those systems — something Cumberland County may not qualify for because of its tax revenues. It is unknown at this time where Cumberland County would raise the funds for a countywide water system, though the commissioners have hired a Lumberton engineering firm to look into the feasibility of such a system.
    In addition to the water problem and the state of the economy, other hot-button issues Council says are confronting the county in 2009 include completing the I-295 loop and improving emergency services at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
    “Right now, we want to provide an instant level of service to our citizens because of the state of the economy,” said Council.
    Council’s fellow commissioner, Breeden Blackwell, also agrees that the water issue and economy are at the forefront of the county’s concerns in 2009.
    “Of course, the water situation is something that’s got to be addressed,” said Blackwell. “I would ask the citizens of Cumberland County to be patient with us on this issue.
    “We usually don’t get much, if any, money from the state, so we can’t plan on any extra funds,” said Blackwell. “We’re going to have to tighten out belts across the board economically, but that doesn’t mean any employee layoffs. But everybody needs to cut back.”

Contact Tim Wilkins at tim@upandcomingweekly.com