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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4 JULY 23-29, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM High 85º Low 70º Thunderstorms Chicken Little will soon find out that "the sky is always falling" in Cumberland County. Yes, controversy is already being "hatched" over a chicken processing plant exploring the possibilities of locating it's operation in Cumberland County. Sanderson Farms, the nation's third largest chicken-processing plant would like to locate here. Holy Smokes people: Where do you think chicken comes from? And, why do you think there has never been a universal catastrophic chicken- processing disaster reported in our world of the 24 hour news cycle? Come on, people! Let's not allow uninformed residents, enviromental lobbyists and policical special interest groups to spoil our chances of improving our local economy, community and quality of life. Believe me, this they will do. Sanderson Farms, Inc. is a reputable publicly traded corporation with a track record that causes no threat or concern except to those who want to use this economic opportunity to further their own interests. Touting excessive traffic, noise, dust and environmental concerns while poo pooing the $10.40 hourly wage the 1,100 newly employed workers would receive as "just above the currently inadequate minimum wage" are signs of subversion. Nonsense. The last time I checked the North Carolina minimum wage was $7.25. A 43 percent increase to $10.40 is not "just above" minimum wage. And, what is all this righteous comparison they are feeding us about the decision Wilson, N.C., made in 2011 when they rejected the Sanderson Farms proposition? Well, it's just not relevant. Matter of fact, Cumberland County's unemployment is 7.7 percent. Again, the last time I checked, Wilson County's unemployment rate was 9 percent and the surrounding counties of Nash and Edgecombe, which would have benefitted greatly from Sanderson Farms, were 8.5 percent and 10 percent respectively. Well, I guess they showed them! This is the 21st century. The processes and technologies of these types of operations have changed dramatically. In a community that has practically demanded that their tax-supported economic development agencies generate actual economic development, this kind of push back can only be generated by outside interests. Its almost comical that just a few weeks ago we had an interesting scenario here in Fayetteville. Dozens of people camped out for days while hundreds of others lined up at the new Chick-fil-A restaurant on Raeford Road just for the opportunity of getting a free chicken sandwich. Hello! Where do you think chicken sandwiches come from? Without the poultry industry our nation's business and economic landscape would be void of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye's, Chick-fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings and tens of thousands of chicken wing outlets that are popping up all over the place like colored Easter eggs. No pun intended. It it is my hope that we allow our city, county and economic-development professionals to work out the details of this economic opportunity with Sanderson Farms. They will do the due diligence and they alone will be responsible for looking out for the best interest of Cumberland County residents. This is a tremendous opportunity to enhance our community and the communities of at least four surrounding counties. We do not want to concede this opportunity to the uninformed environmental lobbyist or special-interest groups. The closest Sanderson Farms plant is in Kinston, N.C. It's a short drive away and I'm sure the officials there would welcome anyone who would like to inspect or tour their operation. Hopefully, we will take advantage of that invitation. Then we can assure Chicken Little that the sky is not falling, but, that wages, quality of life and economic development in our community is rising. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. The Sky Is Not Falling by BILL BOWMAN STAFF Calendar ......................................14 Concert Connection ...................18 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ..................22 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ....23 Classifieds ...................................24 Games .........................................26 INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Jerred Sanders accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Aurora Alexander aurora@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly. com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" pub- lication with local features, news and informa- tion 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. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. High 91° Low 72° Scattered Thunderstorms 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Monday July 28 Tuesday July 29 High 88° Low 70 Scattered Thunderstorms 24 / Thursday July 24 High 87° Low 71° Scattered Thunderstorms High 88° Low 72° Scattered Thunderstorms High 87º Low 70º Thunderstorms Friday July 25 Saturday July 26 Sunday July 27 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910.354.1679 BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly. COMMENTS? BILL@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200.