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/1054352
NOVEMBER 21-27, 2018 UCW 23 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Until the Parks and Recre- ation building has been repaired following damage from Hurricane Florence, some meetings may be moved to Luther Meeting Room at Town Hall at regular dates and times. ose meetings are noted with an asterisk below. • Board of Commissioners and Mayor's Youth Leadership Council Monday, Nov. 19: POSTPONED. • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Monday, Nov. 26, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Building.* • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recre- ation Building.* • Festival Committee Monday, Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall reception area. • Board of Commissioners Monday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Activities • anksgiving ursday-Friday, Nov. 22-23: Town offices closed. • Christmas at the Lake Friday, Nov. 30, 6-7:30, p.m. • Hope Mills Christmas Parade Saturday, Dec. 1, 3 p.m. Promote yourself Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR NEWS Christmas returns to restored Hope Mills Lake by EARL VAUGHAN JR. It's hard to celebrate Christmas at the Lake when you're missing the lake. That's been the problem for several years in Hope Mills as the community struggled with los- ing its centerpiece lake following two failures of the Hope Mills Dam. But now that the dam is back and the lake has been restored after years of absence, Christmas at the Lake will return in all its glory this month. The event is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 30, from 6-7:30 p.m. Cathy Johnson of the Hope Mills Appearance Committee described the evening that has been planned as "an old-fashioned Christmas in the mill village.'' Everyone is hoping for good weather because if it's raining, Johnson said, there are no plans to move the event indoors anywhere and it will have to be canceled. This year's resumption of Christmas at the Lake will include familiar features from past years. Most of the activities will take place in the open area of the lake park between the gazebo and the opposite end of the park near the rebuilt dam. Special events will include the lighting of the Christmas tree and the burning of the traditional Yule log. Johnson said the plan also includes the singing of Christmas carols by groups from a variety of local churches. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be provided for all in attendance, Johnson said. Phyllis Hales, longtime Hope Mills resident, said Christmas at the Lake offers special memo- ries for older residents of the area and she's glad to see it return. "It's something for everybody,'' she said, "kind of the opening of the Christmas season.'' Most of the activities will take place in the open area of the lake park between the gazebo and the rebuilt dam. County, FTCC put commissioners back on TV by EARL VAUGHAN JR. After ending their arrangement to have Hope Mills Board of Commissioners meetings aired by the city of Fayetteville's television channel, the commis- sioners have returned to the air on the Fayetteville- Cumberland County Educational TV channel. Sally Shutt, assistant county manager for Cumberland County, first mentioned the idea to Hope Mills town manager Melissa Adams a few months ago. Hope Mills had ended its arrangement with the city of Fayetteville after the board of commissioners discontinued a trial agreement with Fayetteville to broadcast the meetings. Had the arrangement con- tinued, Hope Mills was going to have to pay to have its meetings broadcast. Shutt said Cumberland County has a partnership with Fayetteville Technical Community College, which operates the FCETV channel, Channel 5 on Spectrum Cable TV. The FCETV channel airs the meetings of the Cumberland County commissioners. Shutt said she reached out to Brent Michaels of FTCC and asked if they would be willing to air the Hope Mills commis- sioners meetings as well. She said Michaels agreed. "They (Hope Mills) are filming their own meet- ings and putting them on their YouTube channel,'' Shutt said. Shutt said any local municipality that films its own meetings is welcome to pursue having them aired on the FCETV channel. Hope Mills will record its meetings on a digital file and upload the file for broadcast on the FCETV channel. At a recent meeting, the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to have board meetings air on the FCETV channel at 9 p.m. on Friday evenings. To check the complete schedule of programs being aired on FCETV, visit the channel's website at FCETV.org. Most of the current programming is education- related, along with some government and county news broadcasts. Hope Mills commissioners in session