Up & Coming Weekly

March 21, 2017

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 UCW MARCH 22-28, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. 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 March 23 Sunny March 24 Partly Cloudy March 25 Mostly Cloudy March 26 Rain March 27 Partly Cloudy March 28 AM Clouds, PM Sun THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 56 HIGH 71 HIGH 74 HIGH 73 HIGH 73 HIGH 73 LOW 33 LOW 49 LOW 56 LOW 52 LOW 49 LOW 54 I get tickled when someone makes the statement that newspapers (and print) are dead. Are you kidding me? Not only are newspapers alive, but in a community like Cumberland County where we now lack both a local TV station and daily newspaper, a local weekly community newspaper like Up & Coming Weekly shoulders the responsibility of reporting, promoting, branding and showcasing the Fayetteville community: A task I was born to do. Confucius once said: "…one who finds a job he loves will never work another day in their life." I truly believe this. So, not only will we never deal in "fake news," I can also assure you our media demise is not eminent. Community newspapers are not going anywhere any time soon. Local weekly newspapers like ours are doing exceptionally well nationally. After all, it wasn't that long ago that everyone predicted that VCRs would kill movie theaters and that TV would make radio obsolete and the telephone would put the telegraph out of business. Well, the last time I looked we have yet to lose any of these forms of communication. I know what you're thinking. Telegraph? Where is a telegraph? Hint: Western Union! I assure you, the printed word will be around for a long, long time. And with it, newspapers. "Fake News" is still a serious problem, and the biggest, most notorious sources of fake news are brought to us courtesy of the internet. No doubt, the internet and social media are the poster children for fake news. No rules, no conscience. Just say anything at any time regardless of whether it has any validity or truth. Cell phones make it too easy to record audio or live stream video to communicate and educate, to make us happy and joyful and stir our national patriotic pride. Or, the same vehicles can be used to destroy innocent reputations, wreck someone's businesses or perhaps start a senseless riot that costs American lives and tens of millions of dollars. Today, social media and the internet are like the wild, wild west and like so many things, they started out being benevolent and beneficial for mankind and then ended up inflicting harmful and toxic unintended consequences. Here's the good news: Print media, and specifically newspapers, are going to experience a boon industry once people realize the only trustworthy news and information sources will come from locally-owned newspapers produced by people they know and trust. This is trending across the country and is precipitated by the large conglomerate newspaper holding companies buying up every daily and community newspaper they can find. This has created a hybrid of detached "cookie cutter" newspaper products void of compassion, ethics and journalistic integrity. Successful community newspapers have reinvented themselves probably three or four times in the last eight years. They are owned by dedicated businessmen embracing and utilizing the internet and digital technology to keep their products effective and relevant. Trust. It's all about trust. And that is the one thing community newspapers are delivering. However, if people want to know the truth, they must seek it out. This means they must make an exerted effort to find out what is going on in their communities and the world. People are turning away from the media because they do not trust it. When they turn away from the news, they are also turning away from their communities. They become oblivious to what is going on around them. That is, unless something becomes a major controversy, and even then, there is little evidence the truth will be sought out. Currently, we need to try to find real news and real truth and not allow someone else to speak on our behalf. We need to speak out boldly. Community newspapers are becoming the most effective way to do that. I have people every week email and call me saying, "Hey, Bill, you should write about this," or "you should write about that." My response is, "Hey, why don't you write about it?" And there, my friend, is where community newspapers are making great headway in restoring readers' confidence. Up & Coming Weekly community newspaper is leading the charge. For 21 years, our news, views and opinions have been written by residents who feel strongly about the news and events taking place in our community. In addition to our "first- person" commentary, our writers' names, photos and bios are attached to every article. This makes it personal. So, if you don't agree with one of our local newspaper topics or writers, you have direct unabridged access to the source. Truth, honesty and credibility make community newspapers valuable to our society. They make readers want to know what's going on in our community. After 21 years of publishing in Cumberland County, I know what makes our newspaper work – and it's not how many papers we print. It's who reads it! I'll conclude by saying there is a lot to be gained and enjoyed from reading local newspapers and engaging in the community. Don't let the internet and social media "fake" you out. Fake News! Not Here: Newspapers Are Not Dead by BILL BOWMAN

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