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/1420493
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM OCTOBER 20-26, 2021 UCW 9 It will likely be next spring before the Fayetteville community learns the future of the historic Market House. An ad hoc citizen's committee has begun a project to fulfill a city council directive to recommend repurposing the center city landmark. e group includes young people, people of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, faith leaders, civil rights advo- cates and service providers. A U.S. Department of Justice representative has been appointed to help facilitate receiving feedback on the Market House. e first of two private meet- ings were held a week ago. A second event will be scheduled for early 2022. e USDOJ and the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission created the group to represent the community. e committee has been asked to prioritize at least three potential options for repurposing the Market House. Raises approved for Superintendent e Cumberland County Board of Educa- tion narrowly voted to approve bonuses for Superintendent Marvin Connely Jr. and his cabinet for the upcoming year. Connely will receive a $10,000 bonus. e nine employees on Connely's cabinet will each receive a $5,000 bonus. e raises and the one-year contract renew- als come after the Board did their review of the Superintendent and the Cabinet and found they were doing a "satisfactory job." e board approved the raises and the one- year extnded contracts with a five-to-four vote. Military sexual assault reporting pilot program will launch at Fort Bragg Six Army posts, including Fort Bragg, have been selected for a one-year pilot program that creates additional locations for soldiers to report sexual harassment and assault. ey will have all the resources needed for personal recovery and prosecution. e "fusion directorate" is part of the planned redesign of the Army's Response and Prevention program, known as SHARP. A pair of recent independent reports found the Army was failing the soldiers who report these crimes. e directorate creates facilities that will include care providers, investigators, and criminal prosecutors, "allowing them to... keep victims better informed at each step of an emotional and complex process," the Army said. e program serves as an additional resource for soldiers that is outside of the chain of com- mand. "Soldiers and civilians must feel comfort- able raising allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault, and quickly receive the care and services they need," said Lt. Gen. Gary M. Brito, the deputy chief of staff for the Army's personnel office. Congress is poised to pass a measure that paves the way for this change in the 2022 Na- tional Defense Authorization Act. If the soldier chooses to make an unrestrict- ed report, which does attempt to hold their perpetrator accountable, the chain of com- mand receives all the same information that it would from any other method of reporting. Fayetteville police officer struck by vehicle A Fayetteville Police Officer was hit and dragged by a car while investigating a hit-and- run, Oct. 12. e suspect, Chante Oates, 24, allegedly hit her grandmother and then hit her grandmoth- er's home with her car while driving while intoxicated. After crashing into the home, Oates drove to Beuer Street. e officer attempted to stop her, but Oates allegedly hit the officer and ran over her leg. e officer was transported to the hospital and is recovering. Oates is facing a number of charges includ- ing assault with a deadly weapon on a govern- ment official, assault on a law enforcement of- ficer inflicting serious injury and driving while impaired. She is currently being held in the Cumberland County jail on a $153,500 bond. Fayetteville rental assistance money runs out e Fayetteville City Manager announced at last week's City Council meeting that the mon- ies for the emergency rental assistance pro- gram have been used as of Oct. 7. e city did not plan for that money to be fully used until December. "I am asking you to recharge that pot of mon- ey with an additional two million dollars in what we call an ERAP 2.1," City Manager Doug Hewitt told the council. "Once that money is in the pipeline, that additional two million dollars. then we'll go back to the federal government and ask for an additional three billion dollars to be able to draw down to recharge that for a total of over 10 or 11 million dollars that we hope to be able to provide to our residents in Cumberland County." However, many people voiced concerns that even though they were awarded money, they have not received it. Hewitt told the council that the average time to distribute money after it has been awarded is around 3 weeks, but they need more staff to help cut down those costs. City Council unanimously approved to re- quest a little more than 2 million dollars from the U.S. Department of the Treasury as well as allocate $280,000 to Innovative Emergency Management Inc. to hire more staff to reduce the wait times and issues that people have been having. Market House future is still pending by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Sgt. 1st Class Michele Rebelo, presents her SHARP go-bag to senior leaders and heads of industry. (Image courtesy of Fort Bragg)