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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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JUNE 12-18, 2019 UCW 5 OPINION Former United States Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., of Greensboro, appeared last week at the groundbreaking of an airport facility she helped make possible. This, that and the other by MARGARET DICKSON Two wonderful friends, one from my childhood in Fayette- ville's Haymount neighborhood and one of more recent vintage, are raising grandsons because their daughters are addicted to opioid drugs. One has custody of a rising ninth grader, a ster- ling young man who is doing well in school and a pleasure to know. e other shares custody with another grandparent of a just-turned-2-year-old, whose future may be a bit iffier. He spent his first 18-months or so in an apartment with little furniture and few toys because his parents sold most of their belongings to buy drugs. He sees his mother once a week for up to an hour and will not allow her to touch him. e Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention estimates that at least 130 people die every day in the United States from opioid overdoses. It reports that there have been three waves of opioid addiction — prescription drugs in the 1990s and 2000s, followed, beginning in 2010, by heroin because it is cheaper, and now fentanyl, the deadliest of all. e economic burden on individuals, hospitals, communities, states and our nation is beyond staggering, not to mention the human misery laid down on both addicts and people who love them. ese two boys are fortunate in having grand- parents willing and able to step up to the pa- rental plate for a second round. Many children of addicted parents wind up in foster care, a percentage that has risen to a full third of all chil- dren in foster care in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sadly, no one knows what this means for children of addiction. Associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, Dr. John Carter, told the American Psychological Association, "Because we are trying to put out the fire in terms of stopping overdose deaths, we haven't really been tend- ing to other casualties, including kids — most importantly." If and when we end the epidemic, its collateral damage will remain with us. ******************** Hope Mills resident Charles Jackson, 66, had his — and millions of other people's — wildest dream come true last week. Wearing jeans and a baseball cap, Jackson picked up a ceremonial check for $344.6 million, which will be consider- ably less after taxes. His is the largest jackpot in the North Carolina Education Lottery's history. Jackson did not realize he had won initially, and when he did, he thought it was $50,000 or so, not the multi-millions he will eventu- ally pocket. Jackson says he will get some new jeans and take his wife on a trip back to her native country, Vietnam, but otherwise has no big spending plans. He seems like a fellow with his feet firmly planted, but other big lottery winners — well, not so much. Experts say that as many as 70% of them are broke within a few years of winning and recommend that big lottery win- ners step back, take a deep breath, hire legal and financial experts and keep a low profile. e Jacksons have no idea how many long-lost "friends and rela- tives" are going to come out of the woodwork. ********************* Americans have just commem- orated our brave military service members who have protected us and others all over the world, most recently those who took part in the Normandy invasion that ended World War II in Europe. ere are other forms of bravery as well. Former United States Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., of Greensboro served in both the North Carolina General Assembly and the U.S. Congress, and last week, she appeared at the groundbreaking of an airport facility she helped to make possible as a U.S. Senator. She and her husband, Chip Hagan, were all smiles, demonstrating the bravery of persever- ance and ongoing service. MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. 700 Ramsey St. Fayetteville, NC 28301 • Incredibly Fresh Flowers • Custom Silk Designs • Lovely Plants & Dish Gardens • Fabulous Showroom & Gi Shop Corporate Services: • Lobby & Office arrangements • Grand openings • Promotions Flowers Express What Words Cannot The Pickin Coop Antique Mall Rogers & Breece Funeral Home Fayetteville Postal Credit Union Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6018 AK Mc Callum Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home Sullivans Highland Funeral Services Floral Arts Inc • Conveniently Located Within Minutes of Fayetteville Hospitals & Funeral Homes • Balloons, Plush, Fruit Baskets Honeysuckle Flower for June www.FloralArtsNC.com 910.822.0425 Celebrating 40 Years of Service H. Zell - Own work