Up & Coming Weekly

October 16, 2018

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.

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OCTOBER 17-23, 2018 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views NEWS Hope Mills to get more downtown sidewalks by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Residents urged to safely dispose of dangerous medications by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Residents will be able to walk via sidewalk all the way from the town hall area to the restored Hope Mills Lake. Photo credit: Elizabeth Blevins The event is scheduled for Oct. 27 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Photo by pina messina on Unsplash Hope Mills residents should con- sider buying a new pair of walking shoes because they're going to be getting some more sidewalks. The town of Hope Mills has been awarded a grant from the Fayetteville Metropolitan Planning Organization to build sidewalks from Johnson Street near the Robin's on Main res- taurant down to Trade Street. The sidewalks will be on the oppo- site side of Main Street from Hope Mills Lake, said Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning adminis- trator for the town. McLaughlin said the grant from FAMPO is for a little under $400,000. It's what's known as an 80/20 match- ing grant, which means the town will add about $80,000 to the project. This newest grant will allow for a continuation of a project already underway that's constructing side- walks near the Hope Mills town offices on Rockfish Road. It will extend existing sidewalks in the downtown area and make it possible, once completed, for peo- ple to walk via sidewalk all the way from the town hall area to the restored Hope Mills Lake. "It will possibly cut down on traffic and create a safer balance between vehicular and pedestrian traffic,'' McLaughlin said. "The main goal is to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, connecting the town of Hope Mills.'' In addition to the sidewalks, the grant will help pay for some enhancements on Main Street, McLaughlin said. "We are going to do a major crosswalk installation at Johnson and Main because there is no crosswalk now,'' McLaughlin said. "We are also going to do a raised mid-block crosswalk halfway between Johnson and Trade Street. At the inter- section of Trade and Main, we're going to do a major enhancement, adding more pedestrian signals.'' Now that the grant has been awarded, McLaughlin said the new sidewalk proj- ect for Main Street is in the design phase and there is no timetable yet for when the sidewalk construction will actually begin. "We are moving forward and filling gaps,'' he said of the various sidewalk projects going on. "We're applying for another grant in November. "This is not a one-time thing and by no means (is it) the end of the road. It's the beginning.'' The Cumberland County Sheriff 's Department is preparing to conduct its annual drop-off of pre- scription and over-the-counter drugs in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. The event is scheduled Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and there will be three locations in the Hope Mills area where residents can safely get rid of expired or unneeded medications. The three drop-off points are Hope Mills Fire Department, Pearce's Mill Fire Department and Stoney Point Fire Department. Lt. Shawna Leake, who heads the community policing section for the county sheriff 's depart- ment, said the drug drop-offs are normally held twice a year, once in the spring in conjunction with National Poison Prevention Week, and again in the fall. The three locations in Hope Mills are among seven countywide where people can drop off medications. Leake said fire departments are a good location for the drop-offs. "Those are places the public is familiar with,'' she said. She added locations are chosen based on where there has been the best response from the public in previous years. Leake said the public is encouraged to bring any kind of prescription or over-the-counter drug they'd like to safely dispose of – not limited to medications. "Sometimes people bring us diabetic needles,'' she said. "(Like) when they've lost a loved one and don't know what to do with their medicines and have a lot of different drugs they are taking.'' Even seemingly harmless items like cough drops that aren't being used anymore or any medicines that have expired are welcome. The main drugs that need to be turned in are any narcotics, especially opioids, to prevent them from falling into innocent hands or the hands of those who would abuse them. "We have an opioid epidemic we are currently combating,'' Leake said. "Those are the things we really want people to turn in. We don't want them to be flushed down the toilet or put in the trash.'' Any drugs disposed of in that manner have the potential to get into the local water system, Leake said. The only kind of drugs that should not be brought to the drop-off are illegal drugs, she said. If individ- uals or families have substances like that they need to dispose of, they need to contact law enforcement directly. "We'll respond to that call in a different fashion,'' Leake said. "We would rather they not bring them to this event.'' For specific questions or concerns about the drug drop-off, call Leake at 910-438-4015.

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