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: https://www.epageflip.net/i/52934
STAFF bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com hal@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown ltmcmd01@aol.com OFFICE MANAGER Laurel Handforth officemanager@ upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Mary Catherine White accounting@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heath- er Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter–––––––––––– 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 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 per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. MARKETING/SALES Hal Nunn ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Crider PUBLISHER Bill Bowman INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN by BILL BOWMAN Economic development expert, Jay Garner, informed us in a meeting last week that companies and potential new businesses look at and assess our community long before we are aware of it. Well, if this is true they must be extremely perplexed and amused at the recent antics of the leadership in Cumberland County. From the sniping and divisiveness of the Fayetteville City Council to the preemptive coup that took place in the town of Hope Mills,which ousted Town Manager Randy Beeman after years of dedicated service — to the dismay of the townspeople. And of course, most recently, Cumberland County Commissioner Charles Evans' antics of unbridled accusations and verbal assault on an undeserving Fayetteville police officer who was just trying to do his job. Last week, it was reported that This is extremely disappointing coming from a person who is supposedly committed to making our county and community safe and enjoyable. I have no doubt that the spirited and outspoken commissioner wants to serve Cumberland County and be an advocate for its residents. Recognizing the need and responsibility for prudent, respectful and thoughtful judgment best accomplishes his goal. Evans' tendency to grandstand, shoot from the hip and bring attention to himself often overshadows and diminishes his sincere intention of wanting to do good things for Cumberland County and its residents. I'm sure that our other county commissioners would probably appreciate less of this kind of attention. Charles Evans Fayetteville Police Officer Marvin Ford stopped Evans for expired tags on his automobile. This later proved to be an error on the part of the Department of Motor Vehicles. However, Evans immediately ranted charges of profiling and harassment. You know, the "Hey, don't you know who I am?" scenario. If memory serves us well, Evans was one of the first members of the Fayetteville City Council to jump on Mayor Chavonne in the wake of Ticketgate, so it seems odd that he would try to use his position to try to get out of a ticket. But that didn't occur to Evans, who even called 911. An emergency? Now really, Charles! This kind of behavior was unfounded and disappointing. Making matters worse, it was videoed by police cameras and is now posted on YouTube, entertaining thousands of viewers across the country. The film clearly shows two things: 1. Fayetteville police officers are disciplined, well trained and follow established procedures that work. 2. Charles Evans was looking for a fight. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast January 20 Thursday January 19 Saturday January 21 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Friday On a side note, I did get a chuckle at his quote: "He [Offi cer Ford] should know, as an elected offi cial, that I would do my very best to be on the right side of the law." Hmmmm? Well, that really isn't the case. Let's name a few: President Richard Nixon, Gov. Jim Easley, Senator John Edwards, Congressman Charlie Rangle, North Carolina Rep. Jim Black, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Fipps and the most recent elected official sentenced to serve hard time Illinois Gov. Blagojevich might have said the same. To paraphrase former Senator John Edwards: "...sometimes it gets to a point that you think that rules do not apply to you". Well, Commissioner Evans, they apply to everyone. Let's all try to remember that actions speak louder than words and people are watching. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. BILL BOMWAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? bbowman@upand- comingweekly.com CalCall 910.354.1679l 910.354.1679 Sunday January 22 Monday January 23 Calendar ........................................... 14 TV ..................................................... 20 Movie Review .................................. 21 Concert Connection ........................ 22 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 22 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 23 Games .............................................. 26 Classifieds ........................................ 24 Note to Charles Evans: Serve the People Tuesday January 24 High 52° Low 32° Cloudy High 63° Low 46° Mostly Cloudy 4 UCW JANUARY 18-24, 2012 High 60° Low 41° Showers Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. High 69° Low 44° Partly Cloudy High 63º Low 44º Cloudy High 69º Low 36º Partly Cloudy WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24 / 7