Up & Coming Weekly

August 24, 2021

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 AUGUST 25-31, 2021 UCW 9 e 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Com- bat Team is on duty at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. e brigade is the division's Immediate Response Force, America's rapid response team. It is able to deploy within 18 hours of notification. "is is what the 82nd does and they do it very well," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. e 82nd trains for airborne assault operations into enemy areas with a specialization in airfield seizure. e 82nd's Immediate Response Force has seen action in recent years deploying on News Year's Eve 2019 to Iraq to help secure the U.S. embassy as it came under attack by Iranian-linked Shia militias. e Division again deployed troops in the summer of 2020 to the Nation's Capital Region in response to civil disturbances in Washington, D.C. e division's commander, Maj. Gen. Chris- topher Donahue, is leading the paratroopers in Afghanistan. All American Week 2021 postponed is year's All American Week, hosted by the 82nd Airborne Division and scheduled for Aug. 30 — Sept. 2, has been postponed due to the deploy- ment to Afghanistan. "All American Week has been a proud tradition for our Division, current events and the activation of our Immediate Response Force requires us to reschedule," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the 82nd Airborne Division commander. "Post- poning this event is hard for all of us, but we are working to find a new time to celebrate with our All American veterans, families and friends." For over 30 years, All American Week has been open to the public to celebrate veterans and honor active duty service members, featuring sporting competitions, ceremonies and memorials. After 18 months of lockdown, All American Week was meant to build esprit-de-corps, bring the com- munity together, and celebrate 104 years of service toward the nation. e first All American Week was held by the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. in 1986. In its inaugural year, the week began with a Division Run, sport competitions, a memo- rial, and a Division Review. In recent years, the Division has updated the Airborne Review an air- borne operation, air assault and a demonstration of modern battle techniques. e dates for All American Week will be pub- lished as soon as they are available. Evans may run for Congress Cumberland County Commissioner Charles Evans says he hopes to replace Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, as North Carolina's 8th District Congressman. Evans currently serves as chairman of the board. In a statement on his congressional campaign website, Evans said that people often complain the two major parties "seem almost in- distinguishable." He filed with the Federal Election Commission in the spring and has been fundrais- ing. "Under the new administration and what our president is trying to do to assist those of us that aren't as fortunate as others — that's been my advocacy for a long time, since I've been in the po- litical arena," he said. With the 2020 Census, North Carolina will add a 14th congressional seat to the U.S. House of Representative. e tar heel state's Republican-majority General Assembly will redraw the map. Evans has been elected countywide three times since 2010. He also served two terms on the Fayetteville City Council from 2005 to 2009. Cape Fear Valley Health modifies visitation policy due to COVID-19 Because of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus and the continuing high spread of cases in Cumberland County, Cape Fear Valley Health has again made changes to its visitation policy. e health system is limiting hours of visitation and re- stricting the number of allowed visitors to one per day per patient. Visitors will no longer be allowed to see COVID-19 positive patients. Hospital cafete- rias are also closed to non-employees. "Our hospi- tals are seeing tremendous growth in the number of COVID patients, and the numbers are growing at a rapid speed," said Cape Fear Valley Chief Opera- tions Officer Daniel Weatherly. "As we continue to experience more of this growth, we may look at stricter visitation policies in the future." Cape Fear Valley Medical Center inpatients, Cape Fear Valley Rehabilitation Center patients, Bladen County Hospital and Hoke Hospital patients may have no more than one visitor from 4 to 8 p.m. Visitors must be at least 16 years old. Family and friends of patients are strongly encouraged to consider virtual visitation options such as video and phone calls. Assistance with phone or video calls may be arranged through the patient's nurses' station. For complete details of the visitation policy visit www.capefearvalley.com. Sen. Tillis visits Fayetteville's FTCC campus Sen. om Tillis, R-NC, spent more time than initially allocated on the campus of Fayetteville Technical Community College Aug 18. He was escorted by Dr. Larry Keen, FTCC President. Tillis toured the college's newest facility -- a general classroom building. But it's much more than that. e structure on Ft. Bragg Rd. houses cyber warfare computer technology laboratories and classrooms where students learn how to battle via information networks. Tillis is spending time visiting areas of his home state during the congressional summer recess. He won re-election to a second six-year term in November, 2020. Tillis, 60, a former IBM consultant and state House speaker, has been a consistent proponent of wearing masks during the pandemic, but he tested positive for COVID-19 in early October. America's Guard of Honor deploys to Afghanistan by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Paratroopers with 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division board a plane enroute to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy 82nd Airborne Division) Sen. om Tillis speaks to media during his visit to the FTCC campus Aug. 18. Charles Evans Chairman of the Cumberland County Commission

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