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/985403
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MAY 23-29, 2018 UCW 7 On Tuesday, May 15, at 8:16 a.m., Gallberr y Farm Elementar y School in Hope Mills went under lock down. A man who was seen wandering the school had not checked in with the school's office. Cumberland Count y Schools Chief Com- munication Officer Renarta Moyd said, "An unidentified man walked into the school cafeteria looking for his child and was acting strangely. As a precaution, the school went into code red lockdown. Cumberland Count y Sheriff's deputies responded and took him into custody." Lt. Sean Swain, the Cumberland Count y Sher- iff's spokesman, explained, "e School Resource Officer from Grey's Creek responded and had the unidentified man in custody at 8:26 a.m. W hen our K-9 officer arrived, the suspect was already in handcuffs." The man, identif ied as 33-year-old Pierre Kevon Miller of Fayettev ille, was charged w it h trespassing, damage to propert y, resisting ar- rest and assaulting an off icer. He did not have a weapon. No one was harmed, and t here was no furt her incident. Sheriff deputies investigated why t he man was in t he school. Lt. Swain added, "The school's prep plan took place like it was supposed to." Will term limits increase? Some members of Fayettev ille Cit y Council are contemplating a change to council members' term limits from t wo to four years. The idea was discussed during a council work session on May 7. Councilman Larr y Wright said he t hinks it makes sense to give t he elected off icial time to do policy. Councilman Jim A rp is against t he idea. He said, "A fter what we've just gone t hrough," referring to t he recent controversy w it h former Councilman Ty rone Williams, t hat it's not fair to t he citizens to not give t hem new options at t he t wo-year point. Councilwoman Kat hy Jensen expressed t hat voter turnout would be boosted in t he years t hat t he mayor would run. A nd she noted t hat t he district where t he mayor lives would see higher turnout. Mayor Pro Tem Ted Mohn mentioned t he council prev iously considered four-year terms but t he vote was deadlocked at 5-5. May 28, Cit y Council w ill hold a public hear- ing on its desire to extend members terms of of- f ice from t wo years to four years. If t he cit y code is changed, t he members' four-year terms would likely be staggered, alt hough t hat prov ision is not included in t he resolution. The proposed chang- es would take place follow ing t he next municipal election in November 2019. Opioid Use Disorder The use and abuse of opioids is now considered a chronic issue. The Nort h Carolina Leag ue of Women Voters says nearly half t he people w it h Opioid Use Disorder have no healt h insurance coverage. They cannot be accepted into rehab programs, pay for medications or receive long- term care. NC House Bill 662, dubbed Carolina Cares, proposes an affordable insurance-like pro- gram for work ing Nort h Carolinians who are not eligible for Medicaid. Unintentional opioid overdose deat hs have risen dramatically over t he last 16 years, according to t he NCLW V. Heroin, fentanyl and ot her sy nt hetic drugs are outpacing prescription medications as t he principal cause of overdoses. e LW V urges the state legislature to conduct a hearing on the Carolina Cares proposal during the legislative session now under way. Animal shelter pet adoption hours change e Cumberland Count y Animal Control Shel- ter, located at 4704 Corporation Dr., has tempo- rarily adjusted its weekday hours for adoption services. e shelter now opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is open Saturday from 1-5 p.m. Drop-off and owner claim hours remain unchanged. e change in adoption hours results from staff- ing changes at the shelter. e new schedule en- sures adequate staff is available in the afternoons, which is the shelter's busiest time. "e change in hours should have minimal-to- no-impact on adoptions," said Shelter Manager Jennifer Hutchinson-Tracy. "We would never do anything that would make it more difficult for an animal to be adopted or reclaimed." Shelter attendants will be better able to focus on caring for the animals and cleaning and prepar- ing the animal housing areas. Learn & Burn Longleaf Pine Workshop Private landow ners are inv ited to an Evening Learn & Burn Longleaf Pine Workshop. The workshop w ill be held Thursday, May 31, from 5:30-8:30 p.m., at 535 Speight Rd., West End, Nort h Carolina. Dinner w ill be included. Grant funding from t he National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (http://nf w f.org) makes t his a no-cost event for attendees. There w ill be discussions and demonstrations (weat her per- mitting) about t he opportunities for prescribed burning during t he grow ing season. Attendees w ill learn best management practices for pines- traw rak ing as well as converting from loblolly to longleaf. Beet le prevention w ill also be dis- cussed. RSV P to Jesse Wimberley, Sandhills A rea Land Trust, by calling 910-603-1052 or emailing jesse@sandhillslandtrust.org. Elementary school lockdown a STAFF REPORT NEWS DIGEST