Up & Coming Weekly

September 08, 2020

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 SEPTEMBER 9-15, 2020 UCW 9 "No special circumstance or reason is needed to vote by mail in North Carolina. All registered voters in North Carolina may request an absentee ballot for the November 2020 general election," the state board of elections says on its website. ree voting options are always available to registered voters — absentee voting by mail, voting at one-stop early voting sites across the county and Election Day voting at as- signed polling places. e state elections board says North Carolina is the first state to send out ballots for the 2020 general election. e vote-by-mail pro- cess was initiated on Sept. 4, two months ahead of Election Day. Ballot requests can be made through an online Absentee Ballot Request Portal. Or voters can fill out absentee ballot requests by mail and turn them in to their county board of elections office. A voter's absentee ballot request information is not a public record until the ballot is returned or until Election Day. Ballot request information will not ap- pear in voter records through the Voter Search Tool. After a ballot is requested, allow a week to 10 days for it to be sent. When your ballot is accepted by your county board of elections, that information will be posted in your voter record. Absentee by-mail voting is safe and secure in North Carolina. Officials are en- couraging voters to request absentee ballots as soon as possible. e cutoff date is 5 p.m. on Oct. 27. City of Fayetteville continues to unfold customer technology Beginning Oct. 1, the city of Fayetteville's De- velopment Services Department will be operating digitally. All development projects and plans will be serviced electronically through a new web portal, which will serve as a one-stop-shop for information developers need. e department oversees planning and code enforcement, zoning and rezoning, special- use and building permits as well as inspections, plus city engineering and infrastructure assignments. It's a means by which city officials can be more transpar- ent and accountable to its customers. "It also saves them time, money and headaches tracking down what is happening to their plans," said Development Services Director Gerald Newton. In 2019, the city's Development Services and In- formation Technology Departments caused the new portal for site plans to be submitted and reviewed electronically. To learn more about Fayetteville's development rules and future land use plans, visit https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/city-services/devel- opment-services. e opioid dilemma continues e National Institutes of Health classifies the misuse and addiction to opioids as a national crisis. A mayoral proclamation issued last week observed that people who have substance addictions can ac- cidentally overdose on prescription opioids. Opiates include morphine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol and methadone. Overdose symptoms include breathing problems and unconsciousness. Fayetteville police and firefighters have used naloxone nasal spray to treat opioid emergencies, saving hundreds of lives over the last four years. Naloxone, also known by the trade name Narcan®, is given right away but does not take the place of emergency medical care. Emergen- cy help is needed right away after a dose of the nasal spray is administered, even if the person wakes up, as symptoms may return. Opioid overdose informa- tion is available at www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/ patients/Preventing-an-Opioid-Overdose-Tip-Card- a.pdf or by calling 911 if you suspect someone is overdosing. County student services phone line still available Cumberland County Schools' student services ho- tline has been reactivated and will remain available while the district is providing remote pupil instruc- tion. Officials have anticipated that some students may experience difficulties because of anxiety or stress related to illness or school closure. e hotline number is 910-475-1950. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. is service is provided for CCS students in need of social-emotional support. Calls are answered by school-based review consultants and military family and youth liaison associates. Small business financial relief available e Cumberland County Community Devel- opment agency is operating a new grant cycle to assist qualified local businesses that have suffered economic hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic. e Small Business Resiliency Program targets small businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees, providing grants up to $10,000. As part of an earlier cycle, 18 local businesses received notice of awards. Several more businesses are pending final review. e Small Business Resiliency program is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. To be eligible, businesses must operate within the Cumberland County geographic service area outside the city of Fayetteville, which has its own program. To learn more, visit the Small Business Resiliency Grant Program link on the Community Develop- ment page of the Cumberland County website at co.cumberland.nc.us. Voting by mail is not new by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.

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