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 16 UCW DECEMBER 25-31, 2019 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. Most meetings take place at Town Hall or the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center. • Historic Preservation Commission, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 5 p.m.-6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center. • Lake Advisory Committee, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center. • Veterans Affairs Commission, ursday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center. • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Monday, Jan. 27, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center. • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m., Parks and Recreation Center. Holidays • Christmas, Dec. 24-26, Tuesday through ursday, All town offices closed. • New Year's Day, Jan. 1, Wednesday, All town offices closed. • Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20, Monday, All town offices closed. NOTE: For both the weeks the town observes the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Waste Management will be operating on a one day delay for all collection services be- ginning each Wednesday. Normal Wednesday collections move to ursday, ursday collections move to Friday, etc. Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR NEWS Hope Mills News and Views: Top 10 articles of the year by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Here are the top ten Hope Mills stories of the year as chosen by a panel of voters: 1. Historic election In a historic night for the town of Hope Mills, the town turned its elected leadership to not one but two women. Mayor Jackie Warner, after a bitter campaign fight with sitting Mayor Pro Tem Mike Mitchell, was returned to office for a fifth term, winning easily with 55.5% of the vote. The history was made by Dr. Kenjuana McCray, an instructor at Fayetteville Technical Community College. McCray, as far as any- one can remember, became the first African- American female elected to the board, leading all candidates for town office this year with 792 votes. As a result of leading the ticket, she was installed as the town's Mayor Pro Tem. 2. Youth sports teams enjoy strong seasons It was a banner year for spring sports teams from Hope Mills. In a town that already has a rich youth sports tradition, the summer of 2019 made it even richer. Four teams from the town won state titles and advanced to World Series competition in differ- ent divisions of the Dixie Youth program. Taking state honors were the Dixie 14U boys of Richard Martinez, the 10U Dixie Softball girls of Doren Kolasa, the 8U Dixie Boys of Jesse Cox and the 12U Dixie Ponytails softball of Steve Welsh. The Cumberland Post 32 Bombers of Stan Bagley won the Lady Legion state softball title. 3. Hope Mills Fire Department Honored The Hope Mills Fire Department won an award that went far beyond a plaque to put in a trophy case. The North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshall awarded the fire department a No. 2 rating. The rating, which took effect in August, is a plus for the town's citizens and businesses as it means insurance premiums charged to them should be less because of the town's high level of protection from fire. 4. Mayor Warner, son Teddy exonerated The town's Board of Commissioners lodged a charge of collusion against Mayor Jackie Warner and her son, Teddy Warner, when the latter made a presentation to the board in his role working for the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Commission. A board-authorized investigation, which wound up costing the town $26,000, was con- ducted by attorney James P. Cauley, an acknowl- edged expert in municipal law. Exonerating both the five-term mayor and her son, Cauley boiled the divide between the mayor and commissioners down to two factors. "It is attributable to a combination of rookie mistakes and changing governance policies,'' he said. 5. Hope Mills Dam wins more honors. The restored Hope Mills dam won its second major award this past July. The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure pre- sented the town with the Envision Bronze Award. The award is presented to projects like the dam on the basis of their resilience and sustain- ability. Since the dam has been restored it has been through two hurricanes, and the only signifi- cant damage sustained was to an eel ladder that allows the animals to migrate around the dam structure. The dam's first national award was in 2018. 6. Arts Council created The new Hope Mills Creative Arts Council was established. One of its first acts was to partner with the Sweet Tea Shakespeare company and bring a live production of "Timon of Athens" to Carleen's of Hope Mills. The production resulted in record ticket sales for a Sweet Tea production. 7. Hope Mills leads in military recruitment According to Defense Department rankings for 2018, Hope Mills leads the nation in military recruitment. From a population of 2,322 candidates age 17-24, Hope Mills had 374 who enlisted last year. 8. ALMS HOUSE has successful summer program The ALMS HOUSE of Hope Mills continued its string of successful outreaches to the commu- nity, mounting an important summer bag lunch program that provided an average of 20 bag lunches per week to children and some adults in need. Support through food and money dona- tions from the community were essential. 9. Heritage Park plan still on hold Work on the proposed Heritage Park devel- opment remains on hold. The land remains undeveloped as the Board of Commissioners focused more attention on the home of coyotes, Golfview Greenway, while both Heritage Park and the former Episcopal Church and its severe- ly distressed parish hall remain untouched. 10. Golden Knights come to Hope Mills The United States Army's famed Golden Knights precision parachute jumping team made an appearance in Hope Mills, jumping in to help with the town's observance of Heroes Homecoming. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Jackie Warner Kenjuana McCray The Hope Mills Dam won a second award in July.