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/825045
MAY 17-23, 2017 UCW 9 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM e City of Fayetteville can't say when the Tokay Senior Fitness Center operated by the Fayetteville- Cumberland Parks & Recreation Department will reopen. e specialty center sustained extensive smoke damage during an electrical fire and has been closed since March 27. City spokesman Nathan Walls told Up & Coming Weekly that "there are too many variables to predict a reopening date." e popular older adult fitness center has workout equipment including treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines and Nautilus equipment. Seniors use the facility for physical rehabilitation and regular fitness regimens often as prescribed by physicians. Group exercise classes are also offered. ose classes are temporarily being held at the Smith Recreation Center, 1520 Slater Ave. e exercise equipment room at the Smith Center is open for senior citizen patrons at 7 a.m. Monday-Friday. Detours for ose Driving Downtown Local motorists accustomed to travelling Bragg Boulevard in an approach to downtown Fayetteville are trying to get used to a long detour. Drivers traveling toward downtown on Bragg Boulevard (N.C. 24) should be aware that a roadway closure between West Rowan Street and the Rowan Street bridge is in effect through June 15. DOT is detouring traffic to allow for the installation of a sewer line. e detour is marked, suggesting that inbound motorists turn left onto the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, to Ramsey Street. en take a right to downtown. ere are alternate routes as well. Inbound downtown drivers may want to use Fort Bragg Road, or they can turn right onto the MLK Jr. Freeway over to Hay Street and on into downtown. Blackwell Seeks Superior Court Clerk's Office Cindy Blackwell, a former Chief Assistant Clerk of Cumberland County Superior Court, announced she will seek the Democratic nomination for the Clerk's position. "e Clerk of Court serves an important role for our citizens and our court system," she said in making her announcement. "Every day thousands of citizens access our courts, whether it's to pay a seat-belt ticket, make a child-support payment or to execute a departed loved-one's estate," she added. Blackwell left the office in early 2014 when Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons passed over Blackwell and appointed District Court Judge Kim Tucker to succeed retired Clerk Linda Priest. Blackwell then accepted a position with the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh. "I have the background, the experience and understanding to serve you," Blackwell said in the news release announcing her candidacy. Gander Mountain in Fayetteville Likely to Stay Open Gander Mountain, a chain of hunting and outdoor stores, is not shutting down after being bought in a bankruptcy sale, according to the new owner, Marcus Lemonis of Camping World. He said reports that all the stores are closing are untrue and that at least 70 Gander Mountain locations will remain open. In North Carolina, Gander Mountain stores in Fayetteville and Winston-Salem will stay open. e others, including those located Raleigh, are still up in the air. Camping World has until Oct. 6 to determine which Gander Mountain locations it would like to keep. Lemonis is best known as host of CNBC's reality series "e Profit." Lawyers for the Man Convicted of Killing Shaniya Davis Want a New Trial Mario McNeill's claim that he is entitled to a new trial for raping and murdering 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009 is "bogus." at's the opinion of North Carolina Assistant Attorney General Anne M. Middleton. In oral arguments regarding a new trial before the North Carolina Supreme Court, Middleton recounted that McNeill told his attorneys, Allen Rogers and Coy Brewer, that he wanted to provide police information helpful to them. In so doing, she said, McNeill waived his attorney-client privilege. Brewer and Rogers then told authorities where they could find Shaniya Davis's body, hoping the death penalty would be taken off the table. District Attorney Billy West offered McNeill a chance to plead guilty to avoid the death sentence, Middleton said, but he chose not to accept it. He went to trial in 2013 and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death. Shaniya's mother had sold her to McNeill in repayment of a $200 drug debt. Appellate lawyer Andrew DeSimone told the court that Rogers and Brewer were obliged to keep the information McNeill provided them by their client secret. e justices will review the oral arguments and written briefs, and decide whether McNeill should get a new trial. Crisis Intervention Resources Residents wishing to apply for Crisis Intervention Fund assistance should go to the Salvation Army Community Center at 220 E. Russell St. e Salvation Army Center at 1047 Southern Ave. is temporarily closed because of recent flooding. e program is administered by the Cumberland County Department of Social Services for individuals and families experiencing a heating or cooling-related crisis. e CIP program is in effect until all funds are exhausted, or June 30. Money is paid directly to utility providers on behalf of approved applicants. Applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Detailed information is available from the Salvation Army at (910) 483-8119. Tokay Senior Fitness Center Not Reopening Any Time Soon by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST Cindy Blackwell Mario McNeill