Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1022492
4 UCW SEPTEMBER 5-11, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Jason Brady, Lauren Vanderveen, Matthew Skipper, Shane Wilson SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly wel- comes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2018 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. On Aug. 28, Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner was inter- viewed by Jeff Goldberg (Goldy), the morning radio host on WFNC 640AM. It was a follow- up interview to Hope Mills Commissioners Meg Larson and Mike Mitchell's discussion with Goldy on Aug. 23 about the status of the Lone Survivor Founda- tion's attempt to build a $1.5 million facility in Hope Mills to treat veterans suffering from PSTD and other war- related disorders. In contrast to Larson and Mitchell's stam- mering through their interview, interrupting one another and faltering midsentence, Warner came across as confident, articulate and knowledgeable about the Lone Survivor project. She was remarkably polite and diplomatic. She was the near perfect example of grace under fire. Even when she was prodded to the more salacious side of the issue, Warner maintained confident and credible control of the conversation. Commissioners Larson and Mitchell have pushed a biased and one-sided ver- sion of the LSF situation since mid-July, ignoring public sentiment and insisting that the land this nonprofit organization would like to purchase – or lease – from the town is not for sale, and that it's needed for a future potential multipurpose reservoir. Not true. Warner effectively debunked these notions with facts and statistics. She also dismissed allegations of possible collusion and conflicts of interest that arose due to the fact that her son, Teddy Warner, is em- ployed as the director of business develop- ment for the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corpora- tion. e FCEDC's mis- sion is to recruit busi- nesses, organizations and institutions that contrib- ute to the economic de- velopment of all cities and towns within Cumberland County, including Hope Mills. Warner reminded Goldy that as mayor, she doesn't even have a vote in the matter and is in no way in a position to profit financially from the LSF partnership. And, while some com- missioners on the board were offended because they thought they were being kept in the dark about the LSF project, Warner reassured everyone that all proper local govern- ment protocols were followed. And, as the mayor of Hope Mills, Warner is the head of the board of commissioners and serves as the leading ambassador for the town. In this position of leadership, she is respon- sible for looking after the best interests of the town and all its residents. Warner pointed out that inquiries of this nature are a typical occurrence. Hope Mills is frequently approached by individuals, businesses and organizations wanting to partner with the town. All inquiries are properly vetted by the town manager and then channeled to the relevant person or department. Warner noted the necessity of developing strong partnerships with large-scale businesses, organizations and institutions when trying to successfully develop and grow a community. Referenc- ing Hope Mills' limited financial resources, she made the point that partnerships with organizations like the LSF allow Hope Mills to do considerably more with its assets than the town could afford to do otherwise. In this case, the LSF is offering to develop Hope Mills land for recreational use at the foundation's own expense, then lease or sell the land back to Hope Mills should the town need it in the future – a $1.5 million win-win-win scenario, you would think. While there is no logical downside to this partnership, there could be consider- able long-term consequences for the town if the board doesn't yield to public senti- ment and reconsider its position on the LSF proposal. Future economic develop- ment opportunities for the town would be difficult if not impossible to attract once the business development community learns that Hope Mills is illogically difficult to work with. After all, the LSF is a well- respected and well-funded organization that the FCEDC brought forth in good faith to the town of Hope Mills. It is an amazing opportunity for the town to serve the com- munity, its residents, Fort Bragg and all the military veterans of Cumberland County and the nation. ese are all factors that neither Com- missioner Mitchell nor Larson have taken into consideration. It makes you wonder what their real motivation is for their ob- jection to the LSF project. One thing is for sure, it does not concern any of the people mentioned above who stand to benefit from this project. Check out page 25 of this issue for a play-by-play rebuttal by Elizabeth Blevins of Goldy's Aug. 23 interview with Commis- sioners Larson and Mitchell. Stay tuned, and thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly and HopeMills.net. Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner: Grace under fire by BILL BOWMAN and ELIZABETH BLEVINS Hope Mills Mayor Jackie Warner was interviewed by WFNC 640AM's Jeff Goldberg (Goldy) Aug. 28. ELIZABETH BLEVINS, Up & Coming Weekly Correspondent and founder of HopeMills.net. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. HIGH 86 HIGH 86 SEPTEMBER 6 SEPTEMBER 7 SEPTEMBER 8 SEPTEMBER 9 SEPTEMBER 10 SEPTEMBER 11 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny AM Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms Scattered Thunderstorms LOW 69 LOW 66 LOW 67 LOW 68 LOW 67 LOW 66 HIGH 88 HIGH 86 HIGH 86 HIGH 88