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/1168827
4 UCW SEPTEMBER 18-24, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Jenna Shackelford jenna@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. EarlUCWSports@gmail.com REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Baker art@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, Karl Merritt, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor, Avery Powers, Elizabeth Blevins ––––––––––– 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" publica- tion 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 welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publica- tion consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or mate- rial. 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 out- door locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2019 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 ele- ments from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Investing in our future is a no-brainer by BILL BOWMAN PUBLISHER'S PEN Will Fayetteville get a new North Carolina state-operated North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction His- tory Center? That's a good question. Basic logic would dictate it's a no-brainer for a community like ours that is working hard to attract business and industry to Cumberland County. As the General Assembly readies itself to approve $46 million for the Civil War Cen- ter, the appropriation hinges on Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville both supporting the proj- ect with financial commitments of $7.5 million each. At this moment, both have tentatively committed their sup- port. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin is waffling, though, stating that more public input is needed and suggesting there may be more pressing needs to address as Fayetteville rallies to shake its Tier 1 status. Education and awareness are es- sential for peace and tranquility. e proposed Civil War Education Center offers both. For those in the city who think the $7.5 million in tax dollars could be spent on more pressing needs, we ask: What can be more important than education and awareness to future generations? Where is the vision? More importantly, where is the logic? is is an $80 million-plus state- funded project for which the city and county would both invest $7.5 million. at's a 0.094% buy-in after the mu- seum foundation has raised over $10 million in donations and $15 million in pledges. Using community support and donations to evaluate and monitor this mandate, I'd say the Fayetteville com- munity is pretty much in favor of the project. So why the hesitation on the part of the city at this late date? Person- al political maneuvering? Mind games? Who knows? However, if it's a game, it's a gamble with stakes so high that a loss here would be so devastating that the consequences to the Fayetteville/ Cumberland County community would be felt for decades. Need proof? Look east of Fayetteville about 5 miles, where millions of vehicles travel both north and south along Interstate 95 each day, avoiding our community. e interstate was predicted to be an economic boom for Cumberland County in the late 70s and early 80s, promising decades of growth and prosperity. Nearly four decades later, only one of the 11 Cumberland County exits have been developed — exit 49. A bad decision made in the 70s has stifled, and continues to stifle, the progress and development of this community. Why? Because of political self-interest and a lack of vision. We can convene all the public hearings we want. e location of Interstate 95 was the topic of several such public hear- ings. Public hearings do not substitute for intelligence, logic or leadership. And, in the case of championing the History Center here is a project that would pay big dividends to the Fayetteville community indefinitely. By the numbers: 1. e Museum is a state- funded operation. In other words, once it's built, the state maintains it. ere is no cost to local residents. 2. e Museum will create hundreds of new jobs. 3. It will have a $20 million annual economic impact on the community. 4. It will attract 100,000+ visitors annually to our community. 5. It will make Fayetteville a statewide destination point. In closing, I know both our Fayetteville city councilmen and women and our Board of County Com- missioners have a sincere and heartfelt passion for doing what is in the best interest of local residents. Escaping the grasp of our Tier 1 designation can only be obtained with honest, objec- tive leadership and vision. We don't need another Interstate 95 fiasco that has netted us zero over the past four decades. We need to partner with the state of North Carolina, this time, in building a highway to prosperity that leads directly to Fayetteville and Cumberland County. The N.C. Civil War & Reconstruction History Center is that master plan. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. A History Center will bring millions of dollars to our community and create hun- dreds of new jobs. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COM- MENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. HIGH 85 LOW 68 HIGH 82 LOW 72 HIGH 89 HIGH 82 HIGH 85 LOW 68 LOW 68 LOW 70 SEPTEMBER 23 SEPTEMBER 22 SEPTEMBER 20 SEPTEMBER 21 SEPTEMBER 24 Mostly Sunny Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny Sunny Sunny SEPTEMBER 19 HIGH 91 LOW 73