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/1322284
4 UCW DECEMBER 23-29, 2020 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR April Olsen editor-@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Keyuri Parab REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson, Pitt Dickey, D.G. Martin, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor, Crissy Neville COVER PHOTO Courtesy of the 82nd ABN DVN Public Affairs Office ––––––––––– 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 BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COM- MENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU DEC 24 FRI DEC 25 SAT DEC 26 SUN DEC 27 MON DEC 28 TUE DEC 29 64 42 56 32 51 32 53 31 55 35 55 39 Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny It's a true Christmas medical miracle — the vaccine is ready by BILL BOWMAN Well, it's a medical miracle, and I couldn't think of a grander Christ- mas gift to all Americans. Regard- less of your political affiliation or sentiments, President Trump and his administration made good on the promise to produce a COVID-19 vaccine in less than a year. Operation Warp Speed made good on that promise when the first shipments of over 2 million doses of Pfizer vaccine were produced and shipped in only nine months. An im- pressive feat considering the normal R&D development process usually takes 5 to 8 years. Millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to be shipped soon. Without incident, thousands of front-line medical workers have already received the first of two vaccinations needed to fend off this deadly disease. e second vaccination will follow in about two weeks. e vaccine arrived in Fayetteville the morning of Dec. 15 to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and to Wom- ack Army Medical Center on Fort Bragg. Both hospitals began vaccinating front line health care workers at 1 p.m. As of this writing, it is predicted that over 20 million vaccinations will be administered across the country by the end of January. is is excellent news and a feat that could only have been accomplished in America. is is a proud moment for our nation and should be cel- ebrated. Not politicized. ere is more good news on the horizon. e CDC announced last week that approval was given for an over-the-counter COVID-19 screen- ing test that will allow individuals to check for the disease by evaluat- ing their symptoms. e results are ready in 20 minutes. e cost? $30. Getting vaccinated is only one stage in getting this epidemic under control. We still need to use com- mon sense: wash our hands, prac- tice social distancing, etc. More importantly, we need to make sure we keep our attitudes right by maintaining a positive out- look and focusing on the well-being of our mental health. After all, this is the holiday season, and emotions will be running high mixed with a little anxiety from being separated from friends and family. Usually, this is a joyful time when family and friends get together to celebrate the birth of Christ, congregate to eat, drink and be merry while sharing family traditions. Perhaps, not so much this year as everyone becomes COVID cautious and rightfully so. Almost everyone I come in contact with has either had COVID, know someone with COVID, or know someone who has passed away from the disease. Social responsi- bility here takes on a whole new meaning. In other words, when it comes to protecting your friends and family from the spread of the COVID-19 disease, consideration of those around you should be your first and foremost consideration. We care about our readers and the businesses and organi- zations in our community. Yes, this is a crazy time, and 2020 will be a year for the record books. However, we will get through this. e development of America's new COVID-19 vaccine has again proven the truth in the adage by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "at which does not kill us makes us stronger." I believe this, and so should you. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Spc. Adam G. Millett, a combat medic assigned to the 82nd Air- borne Division, administers the first COVID-19 vaccine on Fort Bragg to Womack Army Medical Center emergency room nurse Roni Paul on Dec. 15. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Mary Katzenberger, 18th Airborne Corps) Association of Community Publishers