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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6 UCW JULY 26 - AUGUST 1, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Up & Coming Weekly wins journalism awards by HANNAH LEE e Green Eyeshades have rec- ognized the very best journalism in the southeastern United States since the 1950s. Run by South- erners from the Society of Pro- fessional Journalists, journalists in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia can enter their work. Up & Coming Weekly is pleased to announce first and third-place wins in several categories for our non-daily print reporting. Publisher Bill Bowman's edito- rial collection won first place for Editorial Writing. His editorials tackled local politics, the cham- ber of commerce, downtown Fayetteville, the Arts Council, and lack of local news. "Honest editorial and opinion writing are crucial aspects of good journalism, and this has al- ways been Up & Coming Weekly's commitment to the Fayetteville community. We are extremely proud of these awards and recog- nition by peers in our industry," said Bowman. "Bad news comes in three" was one of the publisher pens submitted for the award. e article can be found at https:// www.upandcomingweekly.com/ views/8999-bad-news-comes-in- three. "I believe honest editorial and opinion pieces disclose view- points and expose potential biases upfront. is kind of transparency and awareness allows our readers to evaluate information within the context of the perspective, enabling them to make informed judgments, much to the chagrin of several local government officials," Bowman said. Columnist Margaret Dickson received first place for Seri- ous Commentary. Her columns touched on national politics, redistricting and book banning. "Ostriches put their heads in the sand out of fear," was one of the columns submitted for the award. e story can be found online at https://www.upand- comingweekly.com/views/8969- ostriches-put-their-heads-in- the-sand-out-of-fear. Dickson's collection of col- umns also received first place for Opinion Writing from the Association of Community Pub- lishers. "Journalists who are honest about their opinions build trust with their audience and are held accountable for the accuracy and fairness of their work. If we wrote it, we own it! is is what we do and it continues to be our newspaper's commitment and contribution to the Fayetteville and Cumberland County com- munity," Bowman said. Staff Writer Kathleen Ramsey took home third place for Feature Writing for her article, "Curate Essentials: An herbal apoth- ecary and boutique in the heart of Haymount Hill." e story can be found online at https:// www.upandcomingweekly.com/ entertainment/8882-curate-es- sentials-an-herbal-apothecary- and-boutique-in-the-heart-of- haymount-hill. is article also won third place for Business Writing from the North Carolina Press Association. Assistant Editor Hannah Lee took home third place for Gener- al News Reporting for her cover- age of Fort Bragg. Some of the coverage included the NATO De- ployments in 2022, the renaming of Fort Bragg into Fort Liberty, and the Armed Services YMCA food pantry located on post. "Deployments underway for thousands of Fort Bragg troops" was one of the articles submit- ted for the award. It can be found online at https://www. upandcomingweekly.com/local- news-briefs/8380-deployments- underway-for-thousands-of-fort- bragg-troops. NEWS HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 19 - JANUARY 25, 2022 UCW 5 OPINION If you are not worried about the future of American democracy, you are not paying attention. ere is a lot of hot air on this topic from the left and the right. People share their thoughts based on little more than individual political lean- ings and overheated emotions — no need to take my word for this. Just turn on CNN, Fox News or scroll your Facebook or Instagram accounts, and you will get the idea pronto. at said, there is also a great deal of learned and informed information and commentary to indicate that we are indeed a nation in distress. We are a nation facing divisions of historic proportions, on the precipice of slid- ing from a representative democracy toward a more authoritarian form of government. My first brush with this powerful and terrifying possibility came when reading the 2018 book "How Democ- racies Die" by two Harvard political scientists. ey chronicle how elected leaders undermine the political process to increase their power. It has happened to other democracies, and these authors see it unfolding in the United States. More recent books on the same theme include "Four reats: e Recurring Crises of American Democracy" and "American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America." ese conversations have continued and expanded among scholars, histo- rians and regular Americans who fear for our nation. Here are some numbers to get us started. Last summer, a PBS New- shour/NPR/Marist poll found that 67% of American adults believe our nation's democracy is under attack. A more recent CNN poll finds that 93% of us believe that our democracy is under attack (56%) or is being tested (37%). A majority, 51% of us, believe that elected officials will overturn an election in coming years because their party lost. Perhaps most alarmingly to me, the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank generally considered on the conservative side, reported earlier this month that Americans of all political stripes see the potential for violence. irty percent of Republicans, 17% of independents, and 11% of Democrats, now agree that violence might be nec- essary to save our nation. If we concede that those who do not know or understand history are doomed to repeat it, then we really should be nervous. Barbara Walter, a political science professor at the University of Califor- nia at San Diego and an advisor to the CIA on political instability, believes we are perilously close to another civil war. She and others cite extreme partisanship, geographic sectionalism, urban and rural divides and differing visions for state and federal govern- ments. Not all scholars and observers agree with her. Still, most are concerned about the toxic political atmosphere and systematic attacks on voting un- dermining public faith in the political process. ese ideas are alternately unset- tling and baffling for most Americans, leaving us confused at best and terri- fied at worst. Both ends of the political spectrum, those who think it is happening as you read this and those who scoff that it can never happen in our America, need to back up and take a deep breath. e fact that "We the People" are now talking about this indicates we are concerned, even alarmed. It also tells us that both sides must be thoughtful in what we say and do as we go through a troubled and chal- lenging period in our nation's history. Western European nations fell to fascist governments in the first half of the 20th century, as did southern hemisphere nations in the second half. We are foolish to believe it could not happen here. As frustrating and imperfect as democracy may be, 1947 Winston Churchill's take still rings true now. "Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democ- racy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. If you are not worried ... you are not paying attention by MARGARET DICKSON 4104 Raeford Rd. Fayetteville, NC 28304 910.483.1234 www.bryanhonda.com Proudly Serving Our Community For 75 Years. Home of the Bryan Honda $3,010 Advantage! WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 24 - 30, 2022 UCW 5 e little girl reading books under bed covers by flashlight is a stereotype for sure, but stereotypes develop for a reason. Zillions of little girls — and some little boys — do this every night. So do some big girls, including this one, though these days I confidently read by bedside light secure in the knowledge that my mother is not coming to curtail my bedtime reading. Reading has been a large part of my life since childhood, and I vividly remember seeing a newspaper photo of a book burning somewhere. I was stunned and could not understand why anyone, anywhere would burn a book. I still feel that way. Others, however, do not. Americans find ourselves beset by a new generation of "book banners." Apparently actual book burnings are a bridge too far for today's crowd of idea deniers. is group seeks not roaring bonfires but restriction and possibly regulation of what adults like you and me and our children can and cannot read. Our First Amendment guarantee of American free speech is venerated until it offends the banning crowd. en they appear en masse at school and library board meetings, legislative committee hearing rooms, online and on television, telling the rest of us why we cannot read about issues that make them uncomfortable. is is happening all over our nation, and North Carolina is no exception. eir no-no's list our nation's long history of racism and antisemitism, including historical events like our nation's only successful coup d'état in 1898 Wilmington. (ank goodness the January 6th coup was unsuccess- ful!) Other no-no's revolve around human sexuality, including repro- duction and gender differences. Less prominently but still frowned upon by the book banning crowd are the Holocaust, Apartheid, and the early 20th century eugenics movement. First-hand accounts of any such expe- riences—slave narratives, Holocaust memoirs, and the like are particularly to be avoided, probably because they resonate with human suffering. As a child I was puzzled by the idea that there were some topics some people did not want others to know about or to discuss. If I were curious about something, I generally asked my parents who answered my questions in a way I could understand. As an adult, I understand why some people do not want certain informa- tion available. ey are afraid. ey are afraid of our nation's racist history. ey are afraid of differences in human sexuality. ey are afraid of aspects of our history and our society that do not line up with their own world views. Other people's world views be darned. If a fact or an idea does not align with their own thinking, it is a threat to be stomped down. Uncomfortable and unwelcome truths must be at least ignored and in more extreme circumstances, lied about even in the face of overwhelm- ing evidence and experience. is is not new in the United States. Our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution notwithstanding, tol- erance has rarely been our long suit. Remember Prohibition of the 1920s? Our nation adopted a Constitutional amendment to prohibit the produc- tion and sale of alcohol and wound up with the "Roaring 20s," an era fueled by illegal alcohol. If the internet has taught us any- thing, it is that the world — and our nation — possess endless diversity, most of it neither good nor bad, just different from what we may be accus- tomed to. I have no right, God given or other- wise, to tell you what to read, to think, or to believe, and you have no right to tell me. Beyond that, forcing others to be- have in certain ways simply does not work, as we should have learned 100 years ago from Prohibition. Now, go to the library and get a book that suits you, not someone else! OPINION MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Ostriches put their heads in the sand out of fear by MARGARET DICKSON Photo courtesy of Pexels Contributing Writers Wanted Join the Up & Coming team Contact editor@upandcomingweekly.com (910) 484-6200 Use your creative talents to promote community events (people, concerts, theater, festivals, sports, etc.) Basic writing and interviewing skills needed Intern opportunities available for college students 4 UCW MAY 25 - 31, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Emily Sussman editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com PRODUCTION MANAGER/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Cindy Whitt Jason Brady MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson COVER Design by Dylan Hooker 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 Army Airfield, 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 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU MAY 27 FRI MAY 28 SAT MAY 29 SUN MAY 30 MON MAY 31 TUE JUNE 01 87 67 81 64 86 64 88 66 89 69 91 71 Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Thunderstorms Thunderstorms Association of Community Publishers e privilege to vote is one of our most pre- cious rights as Americans. Yet, we fail to take advantage of this essential aspect of living in a free democracy. In Fayetteville/Cumberland County, our voting record is much worse than in other communities, and there are substantial reasons for this disturbing and frightening situation. For those of you who read this newspaper regularly, I will apolo- gize in advance because for over 25 years, I have commented and opined on this very subject dozens of times. I have articulated my concerns, and even though they have been acknowledged by prominent state and local public servants, all have failed to stimulate even the slightest attempt to solve or resolve the problem. So, once again, I will outline the sources of our low and apathetic voting turn- out. ese are the same reasons that inhibit our community from showcasing its assets and touting our quality of life. Part of the issue is that we have no local television station. Over two decades ago, Fayetteville and Cumberland County leader- ship failed to acknowledge the importance of having a local TV station. First, city and county elected officials preferred operating government in the shadows, away from the observing eyes of the public. Secondly, our lo- cal daily newspaper, the Fayetteville Observer, was enjoying a monopolistic heyday, parsing out and re-shaping the local news. ey garnered the majority of local advertising dol- lars spent by businesses and organizations. So, it didn't take long for them to realize the benefits they would enjoy from the demise of our only TV station, Channel 40. Unfortunately, the rest is history. All the major networks (ABC, NBC & CBS) jumped at the opportunity to corral this market of over 300,000 with a bonus of Fort Bragg. Other cit- ies saw the benefits and potential of this grow- ing market, while our leadership chose to ignore it. Why is this significant? Because as a media source, a local TV station is a hub from which all other media communications radi- ate into the community. Residents, visitors and guests rely on local network television for information, education and awareness. Without it, citizens have no collective way to effectively understand or know the people, issues and circumstances that affect their daily lives. So, you may ask, what does this have to do with our inherently low voter turnout? Everything. Especially when only 16% of Cumberland County registered voters turn out at the polls, as was the case with the primary election. Local citizens do not know about the people running or the community's problems. ey do not know the candidates who are running for elected office. With this being the situation, why would they come out to vote? It's not apathy on their part. ey don't have trustworthy news and information that local television provides on a city and country-wide basis. Without TV, it dilutes the effectiveness of other media resources: newspapers, radio and billboards, because there is nothing there to stimulate local interest and help "connect the dots." is lack of visibility makes it diffi- cult, if not impossible, to assess or vet political candidates. Low voter turnout is only one of the ill effects. is media void encourages a lack of transparency and invites corruption and misdeeds at all levels leaving a communi- ty vulnerable to disaster. Look no further than the Town of Spring Lake for the near-perfect example of what happens when a community is without a TV station or legitimate form of media. Jason Brady wrote a comprehensive report on the Spring Lake situation in last week's Up & Coming Weekly edition. Read it. News coverage discourages voter fraud and exposes ill-qualified candidates and, in some cases, those who are corrupt or have criminal intent. Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches make up the state of our government. e Fourth Estate (the media) is what is supposed to keep them in check by reporting their ac- tions to the American people. Without media, you invite tyranny. At Up & Coming Weekly, we continue to fill the media void to serve our community readers with news and information and to keep this from becoming a media desert. With your help and the grateful support of our partners and advertisers, Up & Coming Weekly will remain free on the newsstand and free to online subscribers. We also will remain a consistent resource for what to do, where to go and how to enjoy the amenities offered here in Fayetteville/Cumberland County. You can depend on us. With ongoing partnerships with the Caro- lina Journal, the Carolina Public Press and CityView Today, we are able to provide news and insights on important local, regional and state issues affecting our readers. ese three organizations, along with our own writers, reporters and editor, serve as the local media to keep you informed with honest, up-to-date news you can use and trust. Together we are proud to be a community vanguard against government waste and tyranny. Subscribe, write us, call us, support local and original stories, help support media and good journal- ism, but, most importantly, make an effort to seek out the truth. ink local, read local, support local. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Absence of local TV station feeds news and information deficit by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Photo courtesy of Pexels 4 UCW AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Well, last week was not a good week for me. Actually, the past thirty days have been pretty much of a disaster for the entire Fayetteville-Cumber- land County community. ey say bad news comes in three, well the recent actions, decisions and events add validity to that adage. First, the City Council fails to ap- prove the resolution to put the Vote Yes Fayetteville initiative before city voters. is issue is not dead yet, only severely wounded. It appears the courts will have to intervene. However, it's a near-perfect ex- ample of how our city leadership disregards its citizens and restricts voting participation and involvement in local government. Currently, citizens of Fayetteville are allowed only two votes in a city election where nine district represen- tatives and the mayor are elected. Ap- proval of the Vote Yes proposal would add four at-large districts giving every citizen six votes to decide the leader- ship in our municipality. Six votes versus two. What's not to like? On Aug. 22 it was voted down and rejected 6-4 by the mayor and five inexperienced council members who put fear and personal agendas ahead of the welfare of the citizens of Fayetteville. en secondly, came the stunning announcement from the Arts Coun- cil that there will be a rebranding of a successful Fayetteville tradition that brought over 25,000 citizens to historic downtown Fayetteville to celebrate the Christmas holidays and launch the holiday shopping season. A Dickens Holiday is no more. I strongly doubt that the idea to dis- mantle one of Fayetteville's most suc- cessful events was the came from the Arts Council board and staff. ose of us that worked the Dickens Holiday over the years know how much time and effort they put into making this community event diverse, accessible and inclusive. is was decades be- fore Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, became "a thing." It's laughable that any so-called "internal review" would or could find otherwise. And since the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County provide funding to the Arts Council many know where the mandate origi- nated, and where the resistance has come from. It appears to be racially motivated. Fayetteville is a very diverse com- munity but not a racially divided community, as those in our city and county government would like to have us think. e leadership of city and county governments has mastered the game of playing the race card to amass personal power and prestige without regard for their constituents and without responsibility or concern for the consequences that result. is kind of behavior in government will continue until all citizens, Black and white, who love this community stand up and say "enough is enough!" is tendency to create divisiveness by encouraging and promoting divi- sion and making false accusations of non-inclusion will only continue to deteriorate the foundation of our community. As I write this editorial, my store- front has been trashed, people have defecated in my parking lot, and the unhoused are meandering through downtown streets heading to their encampments in our city center while officials ignore this blatant situation, and the citizens of the community sit by in darkness, silent and afraid to speak up for fear of being canceled. Many are leaving this community to live elsewhere. ose who remain, sitting on the sidelines, no longer get involved or contribute their time, talent and resources. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are in a bad place with a severe leadership crisis at all levels which takes me to the third hapless development last week. We lost one of the most intelligent, hard-working and dedicated CEOs since John Swope. Her departure should serve as a resounding wake- up call to anyone who loves and cares about this community. Public Works Commission executive Elaina Ball came here because she wanted to make a difference. She was aggres- sive, methodical and not afraid to take on the major challenges facing Fayetteville and Cumberland County. She steered us away from the Bern- hard Capital Partners ruse, took on the Texfi contamination situation that would have turned Fayetteville into a toxic wasteland in 20 years. In addition, she was dealing with the Chemours problem, working to bring clean water back to the Gray's Creek community. Anyone who is close to Ball or works with her knows that her biggest frustration came from local govern- ment processes moving slowly and with little sense of priority or sense of urgency. Communications between local agencies were often extremely poor if not nonexistent. Ball is a dedicated CEO who helps those that help themselves. She has moved on to bigger and better oppor- tunities and we are pleased that she has left her mark here and a commu- nity better off than it was. We wish her the best. In the meantime, it is my hope these situations over the past few weeks provide a wake-up call to our local leadership. e clock is ticking and our time is running out to make Fayetteville a vi- able community we can be proud of. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR April Olsen editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com ART DIRECTOR Courtney Sapp-Scott art@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Isaiah Jones graphics@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Kathleen Ramsey Jason Brady R. Elgin Zeiber Chayenne Burns CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rep. Richard Hudson, Christy McNeil, Katrina WIlson, Cynthia Ross COVER Design by Courtney Sapp-Scott Cover photo courtesy of Pexels. MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com 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. 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 Army Airfield, 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 Association of Community Publishers Bad news comes in three by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. e annual Dickens Holiday will undergo a rebranding effort due to false accusations of non-inclusion. It is yet another example of personal agendas taking priority over what is good for the community as a whole. Curate Essentials: An herbal apothecary and boutique in the heart of Haymount Hill by KATHLEEN RAMSEY COVER STORY e porch at Curate Essentials is astir with energy. e white house looks pristine from the road with lush greenery adding to the overall ambiance given by the large wrap- around porch and broad windows. e atmo- sphere is cozy and relaxed. On one side of the porch two women sit sipping coffee and snacking while discussing the herbs growing out front. On the other side of the porch is a family, their toddler daughter running around the chairs while they sip out of white glass mugs. Traffic is buzzing by and people are constantly coming and going from the shop. Just inside the house, behind the counter is the owner, Leslie Pearson. Her short gray hair is well-coiffed and the dark rims of her glasses frame her face well. She moves fast around the small coffee coun- ter inside. She wears a pair of jeans and a light, sage tunic that meshes well against the herbs and handmade items in the shop. Pearson talks with her customers, giving opinions and ideas for purchases or remedies for their ail- ments. When she speaks, she's relaxed and smiles frequently. Pearson looks perfectly at home in her new space. She laughs between ringing up her customers and gives friendly waves to those entering and exiting. Her own charm is endearing and inviting. e house itself has many rooms with differ- ent types of bookshelves and cabinets lining each room. e gentle smell of herbs overtakes each portion of it. e smell even reaches the porch as the door opens and closes. e shelves inside are lined with glass bottles and soaps, metal jars of hand salves. Jewelry deco- rates many walls within the home — eclectic pieces of metals, leathers and even animal teeth. In the back of the house is a kitchen where large jars of herbs are stored and open glass canisters sit on countertops with herbs steeping in rich, dark water. Upstairs is Pear- son's office and artist studio. It's bright and clean, overlooking the main area of Hay- mount. Overall, the house is like walking into a mixture of Cape Cod and a trip into Wonder- land. It embodies Pearson well. "e whole shop is if you looked inside Les- lie's brain," she says laughing. Pearson walks out to the front of the shop. As she passes people by, she greets them or stops to chat about an herb they are looking to buy. Eventually she arrives at the front near her gardens. She leans against the white railing and looks back at her newest endeavor. Just a short time ago, she was the owner of e Fayetteville Pie Company. She still cur- rently runs her event venue, Vizcaya Villa, which inhabits that space that was formerly e Fayetteville Museum of Art. Pearson bought the building at 1302 Fort Bragg Road in 2018, originally intending for it to just be an artist's studio. When Covid hit, Pearson said she became more and more interested in find- ing medicinal herbs for herself. "I thought this would be a great thing to share with people. at's really when the business itself pivoted to becoming an herbal apothecary. at was kind of the transition," she said. Person stops for a moment, looks back at the porch, smiles and nods her head in Above and right: Curate Essentials is a wonderland of items including metal jars of hand salves, clothing, handcrafted soaps and moisturizer. A snack counter offers tea, coffee and bakery items. Below left: When COVID hit, Pearson became interested in medicinal herbs, and her business idea pivoted toward an herbal apothecary. Below right: Pearson arranges handmade journals. (Photos by Kathleen Ramsey) COVER STORY Close to 5,000 Fort Bragg troops are in Eastern Europe amidst a Ukraine-Russia stand- off. Many of these soldiers are from the 82nd Airborne Divi- sion - an infantry division that is ready to go anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Last week, the deployment of the second round of 3,000 paratroopers began to leave Fort Bragg. Several hundred soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault from Fort Campbell on the Kentucky Ten- nessee border are also headed to Eastern Europe. Several commercial jets graced the runways at Pope Army Airfield last week, waiting to take several hundred sol- diers overseas. While the para- troopers were waiting at Green Ramp, the final springboard for deploying soldiers, pizza, fried chicken and all types of food were being given out. e Religious Support Office had re- ligious texts and books ready to go if anyone wanted, and there was a long line for stations set up to handle last-minute paper- work. Many of the waiting para- troopers were socializing, re- checking their gear or catching a few moments of sleep. Specialist Bryan Flores was laughing with the men next to him. He has been in the Army for almost four years and moved to Fort Bragg three months ago from Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson in Alaska. Flores said this will be his first deployment and going out and serving on a mission is exciting. "From the human's perspec- tive, I'm really nervous. But as a soldier, I'm prepared, and be- cause I know what to do, I know my job." Flores is stationed at Fort Bragg with his wife, Marta, and her two children - ages 10 and 7 years old. He said he didn't want to tell the two kids he was leaving. "I didn't want to tell them to their faces that I'm leaving because, of course, they would be very upset and really scared," Flores said. "It's hard to tell kids goodbye; I'm leaving some- where, especially if it's in regard to conflict." He says it's especially hard to leave his family as they just moved to Fort Bragg and were still getting adjusted to the base. "I certainly didn't expect it to happen; it was more of a last- minute thing. But of course, that's what we're here to do," Flores said. "When we are ready to go, we're supposed to go and confront the enemy and pro- tect the citizens of the world because that's what the United States is about ; we protect." Flores said that if he could bring something home from his deployment, he would try and find a figurine of a histori- cal monument or something that represents liberation from World War II. On the other hand, 27-year- ability to move quickly and to conduct a range of missions across a range of contingencies which is well-proven, that is why the Secretary has ordered them to go," Kirby said. One of those missions might be to help support American evacuees fleeing Ukraine into Poland. President Joe Biden said last week he is convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine. Thousands of Fort Bragg troops deploy by HANNAH LEE Above and below left: U.S. Army Paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division walk to their aircraft at Pope Army Airfield, Feb. 14. The 82nd Airborne Division is being deployed to reassure NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO's eastern f lank, train with host-nation forces and contribute to a wide range of contingencies. (Photos by Sgt. Hunter Garcia) Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA food pantry offers assistance to military families in need by HANNAH LEE FEATURE A global food crisis is hitting the pocketbooks of those in the United States, including U.S. service members. Jeremy Hester, the Executive Direc- tor for the Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA Food Pantry, says they have seen an increase of 15% of service members coming to the pantry. "Right now we're seeing an uptick in usage," Hester told Up & Coming Weekly. "We're also seeing kind of a downturn in donations." e pantry typically receives calls from companies like Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods on random days when their meat is about to expire. e "We're really recruiting volunteers to help us with the gardening because we want to prove that we can keep those gardens going," Hester said. "We're getting some of those vegetables and things and bringing them to the pantry. And we're taking our group out there a couple of times. If we can keep that going and not lose a beat and not let it grow out, then I think there's an opportunity for us. Do more plots and just get more people involved. Right now we're getting a good amount of stuff out of there. But if we had 100 plots, it can really help." Plans to increase the food pantry