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/1211973
4 UCW FEBRUARY 19-25, 2020 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Jenna Shackelford jenna@upandcomingweekly.com HOPE MILLS AND 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 MARKETING COORDINATOR FOR WOMEN'S VIEW AND FAYETTEVILLE LADIES POWER LUNCH Caroline Schafer caroline@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, Crissy Neville COVER PHOTO Tony Wooten and LRP Media ––––––––––– 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" publication 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 publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. 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 outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 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 elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN When circumstances merit, our publisher, Bill Bowman, yields this space so others can address topics that are important to the community. is week, he yields to Gray's Creek resident Janice Burton to share the letter she sent to North Carolina Department of Environ- mental Quality Secretary Michael Regan. Burton is the former associate publisher of Up & Coming Weekly. Secretary Regan: I am one of many citi- zens who live in the Gray's Creek community and who are threatened by the chemical contamination by Chemours. I know that there are literally thousand of us who are nameless and faceless people whose stories you do not know and, from decisions made by your department, do not care about. But I care, so if you will indulge me, I would like to share them with you. Cumberland County is known as a place of history, heroes and a hometown feeling. Gray's Creek is the embodiment of that. For centuries, the founding families of this community have lived, worked and worshipped here. I back this up by mentioning the McNeill family that still has the land grant that the King of England issued to their family prior to the American Revolution. ey, and people like the Riddles and the Canadys, have farmed their lands and provided fresh vegetables for their families and their neigh- bors. Now, they are afraid to farm their land, let alone feed their produce to their families or sell it to their neighbors. Chemours and you, by failure to act in a responsible manner, are killing that proud history and heritage. Heroes. Over the past two decades, soldiers and their families have moved into the community seeking peace and quiet — far from the gates of Fort Bragg. at is my story and those of many other military families — my husband was deployed 13 years of my son's 19 years of life. We moved to the area, found a church family filled with those families who settled this ground, and who took us in and made us family. My husband found peace and friendship with the old men who gather to drink coffee at the corner store. ey call it getting the news, but it's a com- munity and that's what those heroes who moved here were looking for. ese men who literally have fought for 20 years and came back alive now have an enemy they can't fight, and they can't protect home and hearth because you gave Chemours an out to do the least amount possible. Every single house that has contamina- tion should have a full home system put in — not a stopgap measure. Daily, new reports are coming out that are proving that the PFAS go through the skin — so giving us drinking water and sink systems isn't helping. ey (Chemours), and you by lack of responsible action, still have a loaded gun pointed at all of us. As the person who is supposed to protect our health, you are the one pulling the trigger. I have told you about our community and the stories of the people who live here. But you need to know these people, my family, deserve more than the minimum. e people of Cumberland County should not have to bear the burden of pay- ing for water to be extended — and we shouldn't have to wait for years and continue being poisoned. Chemours' pockets are deep and you have the ability to make them do the right thing — right now. Not after it is too late. You need to step up to the plate and take care of the people you are sworn to protect. Whole-house systems for every affected home or immediate expansion of water to everyone, paid for by Chemours, are the only two options that are acceptable. I urge you to do the right thing for the people of this community — not for the deep pockets of Chemours. Janice Burton Gray's Creek resident Chemours and DEQ: Do the right thing by JANICE BURTON HIGH HIGH 61 61 LOW LOW 46 46 HIGH HIGH 58 58 HIGH HIGH 42 42 HIGH HIGH 52 52 HIGH HIGH 63 63 LOW LOW 43 43 LOW LOW 78 78 FEBRUARY 24 FEBRUARY 23 FEBRUARY 21 FEBRUARY 22 FEBRUARY 25 Showers Showers PM Showers Partly Cloudy Sunny Showers FEBRUARY 20 THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY HIGH HIGH 45 45 LOW LOW 29 29 Humidity 46 66 74 73 44 59 LOW LOW 30 30 TUESDAY LOW LOW 23 23 JANICE BURTON. Gray's Creek resident. COMMENTS? editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910-484-6200 anks to Chemours, local farmers who have worked the land for generations are afraid to farm their lands, much less feed their produce to their families and neighbors.