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
Franklin Street Parking Deck Set to Open a STAFF REPORT Due to weather-related delays and suppliers not meeting deadlines, the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Franklin Street Parking Deck has been pushed back to 4th Friday on Feb. 24. Specifi cally, paving and masonry were affected by cold and rainy weather. Substantial completion of the parking deck was expected originally Nov. 10, but that date was pushed back to Jan. 10. A grand opening was scheduled to take place at the January 4th Friday on Jan. 27. At this point, substantial completion of the deck has not been reached and the new plans for the parking deck's grand opening were discussed at a meeting. "The city has been informed by the contractor, Lechase, that they were unable to meet the January deadline," said Rusty Thompson, city engineering and infrastructure director. "City staff was unaware until the meeting ... that the deck would not be completed for the opening event in January. The main priority of opening the parking deck to the public is to ensure its structural safety for users. The city looks forward to providing more parking spaces to downtown visitors when the deck opens in February." Downtown visitors still have access to free all-day parking in 442 downtown spaces. Three-hour on-street parking provides 145 spaces, two-hour free on-street parking provides 358 spaces, and two-hour free parking lots provide 149 spaces. On nights and weekends, more than 1,900 free parking spaces are available. Methodist students to offer graphic design services for area non-profi ts For the second consecutive year Methodist University is conducting the Graphic Design Workshop Class and our graphic design senior students are eager to contribute their creative talents to area non-profi t organizations. This is an opportunity for the students to have real-world projects, and for area organizations to have creative development which would normally be budget prohibitive. Only production costs involved will become the organization's responsibility. Organizations should contact Purnima Swaharu, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at 910.480.8404 or at pswaharu@methodist.edu. The Re-Store Warehouse and Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network Join Forces The Re-Store Warehouse is proud to announce a new partnership with Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network (CIHN). With this partnership, The Re-Store Warehouse is committed to donating a minimum of $100,000 in fi ve years to CIHN to support its program with the homeless of Fayetteville. CIHN is a 17-year-old organization dedicated to the elimination of homelessness and encouraging those towards self-suffi ciency. The organization serves 130 children and their parents daily through its four programs. The partnership development provides multiple levels of opportunities. The Re- Store Warehouse is not only fi nancially supporting CIHN but also providing employment opportunities to provide sustainability for the families. An employee at The Re-Store Warehouse Inc. is currently involved in the Interfaith program. Because of the new partnership, a young man in the program was interviewed and hired by The Re-Store Warehouse as a full-time employee. The Re-Store Warehouse employee added: "This was a blessing in disguise, it has enabled me to spend more time with my family and reach new goals" His goals include owning his own house after leaving the program and going back to school. He states: "Bill McMillan empowers you to better yourself." Denise Giles sees a bright future for CIHN with the help of The Re-Store Warehouse Inc., noting "We both see an end goal and have only begun to scratch the surface." Future plans include additional employment opportunities between Interfaith families and The Re-Store Warehouse workforce development and job training. The Re-Store Warehouse has already given $10,000. Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network was able to use the donation to fi x vans in order to assist homeless transportation. Giles explained, "Because of the money, we did not have to have a break in service and could easily fi x a problem". WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 18-24, 2012 UCW 9