Johnny Wilson, who has been with Fayetteville Urban Ministry since 1999 and executive director since 2012, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at 11 a.m. on Feb. 13 when the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission stages its 2025 Community Awards program at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd, according to a news release. Wilson will tell you the success of the ministry is one to be shared with employees and volunteers. He’s a humble leader. And some of us will tell you the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission got it right in honoring Johnny Wilson.
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The 31st Annual Martin Luther King Parade has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. on Feb. 8 in downtown Fayetteville, according to Stanley Ford, chair of the Fayetteville Cumberland County Martin Luther King committee. The parade, originally scheduled for Jan. 18, was postponed because of inclement weather. If you have further inquiries about the parade, call (910) 494-7989 or (910) 650-3489.
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A 40-year-old man is the eighth city homicide in January as police respond to a reported 2:02 a.m. shooting at the 1200 block of Patrick Drive in west Fayetteville, according to a Fayetteville Police Department news release. A 21-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound just before 4 p.m. on Jan. 19 in the 2200 block of Stanton Street in south Cumberland County was the seventh homicide in the city, according to the FPD. A 61-year-old man suffering from an apparent stab wound at 11:54 p.m. on Jan. 16 on the 5400 block of Aspen Court near Skibo Road, according to the FPD, was the sixth homicide in the city. Police responded to a reported shooting at 7:55 a.m. on Jan. 13 in the 700 block of Topeka Street near Rosehill Road, according to the FPD, where the victim was a 22-year-old woman who was the fifth city homicide, and third in one week. There were, according to the FPD, 27 homicides in 2024 and a record 52 homicides in 2023.
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The Fayetteville City Council strategic planning retreat scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Dorothy Gilmore Therapeutic Recreation Center at 1600 Purdue Drive has been canceled because of inclement weather, according to a city news release. When the retreat is rescheduled, 2025 crime might be the first thing the council should place on its agenda.
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Sixteen degrees when I stepped outside Thursday morning, and that’s too frigid for old Bill.
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My furnace is drinking the heating oil from the drum like the fellow at the local pub who just learned his girlfriend has been dating his best friend.
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Alianna Sigler, the Cumberland County Schools 2025 Teacher of the Year, has been selected to participate in the Go Global NC 2025 program, according to a news release, and where the Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary teacher will join with a delegation of North Carolina educators traveling to the Netherlands in June for a firsthand look at the country’s education system. “I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture with a network of North Carolina educators,” Sigler, 31, says in the release. “I anticipate bringing some of these successful and impactful practices back to my campus and our district and promoting global practices to support all students as the CCS Teacher of the Year.” The program itinerary includes stops in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and other areas of the Netherlands. Sigler is a dedicated special education teacher, and her students and their parents will attest.
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Teresa Bone is curator of “The Seed and The Sower,” which is the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County’s latest exhibit as part of Black History Month in February. “The theme of ‘The Seed and The Sower’ came to me after having some reflective moments following the passing of my paternal grandmother a few years ago,” Bone says in a news release. “I built my feelings into an exhibition concept because I knew that what I was feeling was a very human experience that so many others would be able to empathize with.” An opening reception is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Arts Council, 301 Hay St. There is no cost to attend the reception.
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Highland Presbyterian Church members are getting out their tartans and kilts to celebrate their Scottish heritage, aka Kirkin’ O’ The Tartans, for the 11 a.m. worship service Sunday at the old church with the tall steeple overlooking Haymount Hill. “This service will include bagpipes, Scottish music from the choir and organ, and a procession into the church with tartans representing many families, past and present,” Becky McGlothlin says. “We will have more than 20 families who will participate by carrying tartans from their own family heritage, and other church members who will carry tartans representing the many families who have been a part of our heritage at Highland over the years. We welcome all who will join us as we celebrate the traditions of Scotland with clans, kilts, tartans, bagpipes, and most importantly, our strong Christian faith passed down through the ages.”
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“The Fayetteville Symphony is excited and honored to be a part of the festivities this year celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour to the United States,” Music Director Stefan Sanders of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra says in a news release about “Sounds of Lafayette” scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 25 at First Presbyterian Church, 102 Ann St., in downtown Fayetteville. “As the last surviving general of the American Revolution, he inspired a patriotic retrospective for Americans in the post-Revolutionary War period. Our program will feature music from Lafayette’s time accompanied by stories and historical context making for a fun, informative and celebratory performance.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online here or by contacting the FSO office at (910) 433-4690 or by buying tickets at the door the night of the concert. Senior, military, college student, child and Cumberland County Schools employee discounts are available on all ticket purchases.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
We’re in our third year of CityView Today, and so many of you have been with us from day one in our efforts to bring the news of the city, county, community and Cape Fear region each day. We’re here with a purpose — to deliver the news that matters to you.
Highland Presbyterian Church’s SCOTTISH HERITAGE SUNDAY has always been so special to me. Thank you for including this year’s service in your column. Hope you can
attend!!