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/912607
4 UCW DECEMBER 6 - 12, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@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, Erica Walls, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Paul Hall, Lau- ren Vanderveen SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@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. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly wel- comes 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. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Dancers on the cover: Front row, L to R: Mikeala Burney, Helen Steffan, Sophia Lewis Back row, L to R: Marissa Morris, Cai Davis, Ella Lewis, Laura Jones Cover art/Various ads with art graphics designed with various elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 484-6200. Citizens. Not just 'voices of those in the background.' by BILL BOWMAN By the time you read this, the city of Fayetteville will have a vibrant new city council. Congrat- ulations to everyone, especially Mayor Mitch Colvin and newcom- ers Johnny Dawkins of District 5, D.J. Haire of District 4, Tyrone Williams of District 2 and Tisha Waddell of District 3. Best wishes to all. Honestly, I'm glad the installa- tion is over. Or, was it an inaugura- tion? Or coronation? Call it what you will, I just hope that everyone has settled down by now and will allow our new council to focus on the real issues that will move the city forward. I will admit I was quite surprised at the reactions of the public to the initial controversy over where to have the swearing-in ceremony. From the many inter- views and conversations I had and phone calls and emails I received, the common thread of angst and frustra- tion came from the discomfort of knowing this new council had its first controversy over something as simple as organizing and agreeing on the details of an event. Equally unnerving was the perception that some council members seem to have little concern or respect for how the citizens felt about the issue. I think a lot of the un- necessary drama and controversy might have been avoided altogether had someone been able to tamp down the brazen, un- characteristic bravado of District 7 Council- man Larry Wright, who basically suggested Fayetteville citizens should shut up and stop whining. I'm not kidding. Wright's attitude and uncharacteristic comments came across like fingernails on a chalkboard as he was trying to make a point to the well-sea- soned and highly respected dean of the council, Bill Crisp. Wright told Crisp that it is always the nature of politics to attract and warrant criticism. en, the good Rev. Wright doubled down with an outrageous statement ; it reeked of pompousness and arrogance. "We (the council) cannot become submissive to the voices of those in the background." What? Are you kidding me? ose voices? In the background? Well, here's a news flash for Councilman Wright, those "voices" are his constituents. ose "voices" are the people who put him where he is today. ose "voices" are the people paying taxes and expecting him to be a conscientious and responsible steward of their money. Wright went on to say that they, the elected city officials, deserve a nice, lavish celebration in return for all the time and effort they put into serving the residents of Fayetteville. Wright has now shown his true colors. And, it will be difficult for him to take back those sentiments. His con- spicuous attitude of entitlement is indel- ible. I just hope it is not a sentiment held by other members of council. Allowing common sense to prevail, he could apologize to his fellow council col- leagues for including them in such selfish, thoughtless and outlandish comments. More importantly, he should apologize to the residents of District 7 and then to all the citi- zens of Fayetteville. Let me remind you that I am writing this four days before the swearing-in ceremony. If Councilman Wright did acqui- esce and come through with a sin- cere and heartfelt apology during or after the ceremony, then it will be I who apologizes to him. In the meantime, since local politics seems to attract its fair share of clergy, they must real- ize that politics is a calling of a different nature – a calling that does not entitle them to a love offering. e money they are spending and responsible for be- longs to the citizens. One other message for Rev. Wright: we are not obligated to "honor" any elected official. Holding an elected office is a privilege and should not be considered just a supplemental source of income. In conclusion, I want to congratulate Mayor Colvin on his decision to raise money from the private sector for the swearing-in ceremony. Who wouldn't want to contribute to that fund? My check is on the way, Mitch. And, make no mis- take about it, this is a time for celebration. It's a time to allow citizens, family, friends and well-wishers an opportunity to con- gratulate, meet and greet Fayetteville's new leadership. Gratitude need not be lavish or expensive. It only needs to be sincere. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. HIGH 43 HIGH 52 HIGH 47 HIGH 48 HIGH 56 HIGH 58 DECEMBER 7 DECEMBER 8 DECEMBER 9 DECEMBER 10 DECEMBER 11 DECEMBER 12 AM Showers Rain Partly Cloudy Sunny Sunny Partly Cloudy LOW 38 LOW 34 LOW 28 LOW 31 LOW 25 LOW 27 "We cannot become submissive to the voices of those in the background." – District 7 Councilman Larry Wright. Really?