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/777012
4 UCW JANUARY 25 - 31, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Sometimes, just sometimes, there is so much going on in this community it's hard to decide what to write about. So, here are a few thoughts and comments on some hits and misses I found most interesting the past several weeks. I will start with the most exciting. Hit: On Friday, Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as America's 45th president. Making America great should be every American's highest priority. Miss: All those people who refuse to acknowledge him as the truly- elected Commander-in-Chief are disrespecting the office of the presidency. This is deplorable, un- American behavior regardless of sexual orientation, political affiliation or race. Hit: Cumberland County follows the City's lead and steps up with a $7.5 million unanimous decision to support the Civil War History Education Center. All we need to do now is get started on a new downtown Performing Arts Center. Miss: Cary and Raleigh's attempt to "drain the river" by taking nine million gallons of water a day from the Cape Fear River, regardless of the long- term effect it will have on everyone down river in the southeast region of North Carolina. Hit: A gracious farewell by Artistic Director of the Gilbert Theatre Robyne Parrish as she addressed about 75 friends and well-wishers, bidding them goodbye. Parrish is relocating to Pittsburgh, with her husband Matt, after a successful five-year stint at the Gilbert. Miss: Shame on the naysayers who have no vision for the future of Fayetteville. They need to lead, follow or get out of the way. Miss: The excessive amount of litter on Fayetteville and Cumberland County streets and roadways. Fayetteville needs an anti-litter campaign and an official beautification program. This is not being critical of efforts currently being taken by the city and county to address the litter problem. Only education, awareness and action will be effective in addressing the problem. Trash is everywhere! Hit: City Manager Doug Hewett has initiated a search for a new Fayetteville police chief to replace Chief Harold Medlock, who retired last year. Many think our interim chief Anthony Kelly is qualified for the job. We'll find out soon. Miss: Gun violence and homicides in Fayetteville during 2016 have reached a concerning all-time high. Should we be concerned? Yes! Hit: The new downtown baseball stadium and the $60 million of economic development that will ensue. Miss: Our community's continued insistence on listening to outsider experts and paid boilerplate consultants on how to create economic development in Cumberland County. We continue to pay them to come here and state the obvious to us as if it was new found wisdom. Recently, a professor at the UNC School of Government shared these nuggets of wisdom with our local government officials: Local leaders must work together and get along with each other. Duh! And, we should encourage more local investment and more investment would mean more jobs and more jobs would mean higher wages and that would mean a better quality of life. Really? At this stage of the game do Fayetteville and Cumberland County think we really need consultants and university professors stating the obvious to us? Hit: The prospect of our local Fayetteville General Assembly delegation advocating for "local preference" legislation that would give local businesses an edge in gaining local contracts. Keeping commerce local is important and so is shopping locally. All these things are thought-worthy and all affect our quality of life here in Fayetteville and Cumberland County. And, you didn't need to hire a consultant to find them out. I love this job! Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly PUBLISHER'S PEN Hits and Misses by BILL BOWMAN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Keri Dickson keri@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@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" publication with local features, news and infor- mation 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 pub- lication consideration, but assumes no respon- sibility 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 distrib- uted 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. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. 4 UCW DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 3, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 2017. Believe me, I'm ready. Judging from all the calls, emails and countless social media posts, our readers had a very Merry Christmas. And, for the most part, residents throughout Fayetteville and Cumberland County are excited about the future prospects in store for our community. And we should be. The seeds of growth, economic development and a better quality of life have all been planted. Now, city and county leadership need to take aggressive and affirmative action to make sure these local life-changing projects stay on track. Elected officials and city and county staff all need to be at the top of their game. Initiative, hard work and leadership will be vitally important in the months to come. In the words of the late General George S. Patton Jr.: "Lead me, follow me or get the hell out of my way." This should be the battlecry and motto adopted countywide. It will be interesting to see who steps up. One thing is for sure, Fayetteville is a community full of opportunity. The challenge is knowing how to capitalize on it. So, my hope for the New Year is that aggressive leaders will seek out the people, businesses and organizations that can help us realize our dreams, thus contributing to this growing vibrant community. Here are just a few of the organizations poised to take this community to new heights, starting with your favorite weekly community newspaper: Up & Coming Weekly Chamber of Commerce City of Fayetteville County of Cumberland FTCC CEED Reeve's School of Business Fayetteville Economic Development FSU Entrepreneurial Center Better Business Bureau These are just to name a few organizations ready, willing and able to help take our community to new heights. In other words, the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community has the will and all the resources necessary to help individuals and businesses develop, strive and survive, along with the willingness to "help those who help themselves." 2017 is going to be an exciting and awesome year. So, buckle your seat belts folks, because, if executed properly, our progress will be fast and furious. And, you can count on us to be right in the center of it. Happy New Year! And, as always, thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly. PUBLISHER'S PEN Fayetteville and Cumberland County Heed These Words: "Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of the way!" by BILL BOWMAN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sara Smith art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Keri Dickson keri@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@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" publication with local features, news and infor- mation 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 pub- lication consideration, but assumes no respon- sibility 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 distrib- uted 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. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast December 29 AM Showers December 30 Partly Cloudy December 31 Sunny January 1 Mostly Sunny January 2 Partly Cloudy January 3 PM Showers THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 64 HIGH 52 HIGH 47 HIGH 53 HIGH 44 HIGH 54 LOW 42 LOW 30 LOW 32 LOW 35 LOW 35 LOW 43 BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. – General George S. Patton Jr. General George S. Patton Jr. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast January 26 Rainy January 27 Sunny January 28 Sunny January 29 Cloudy January 30 Sunny January 31 Rainy THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 60 HIGH 52 HIGH 54 HIGH 62 HIGH 53 HIGH 52 LOW 35 LOW 31 LOW 30 LOW 30 LOW 34 LOW 33 Robyne Parrish