Hope Mills Commissioners Grilley Mitchell and Bryan Marley were censured Monday by fellow board members including Mayor Jessie Bellflowers, Mayor Pro Tem Hope Page, Lisa Tremmel, and Cynthia Hamilton for their alleged “disruptive conduct, breach of public decorum trust and respect and unauthorized disclosure of confidential personnel information” at a June 22 commissioners meeting.
That meeting was related to commissioners deciding not to renew the contract of Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin and the town budget. “I don’t like to see censures about our behavior,” Bellflowers said. “I don’t. Not at all… We have too much business to do. We have so many priorities in this town that we need to concentrate and put our energies on, and we shouldn’t be censuring each other.”
Let’s be honest here, Mr. Mayor, Mitchell and Marley did get up and leave a closed session because they were not in favor of terminating the town manager, and it was without question disrespectful to fellow board members.
Voting to reprimand Mitchell were Page, Tremmel, and Hamilton. Voting to censure Marley were Tremmel, Hamilton, and Bellflowers, who voted to break a 2-2 tie when Page said she could find no evidence Marley revealed confidential information. There was a lot of “he said, she said” drama Monday night before the censures. Truth is, a censure is little more than a slap on the wrist, but some residents believe Mitchell and Marley got what they deserved.
Sooner or later, you just throw up your hands and give up the ghost, which is just what Angie Amaro did on July 31 as the embattled director of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. “I found myself working in an environment where I no longer felt trusted, respected, or valued,” Amaro wrote in her retirement letter. Amaro was suspended with pay on April 23 after apparently running afoul of board chair Linda Devore, Ryan Johnson, and Bree Eldridge, all who are Republicans. Derek Edmonds, a Democrat, joined with them on July 21. We’ll never quite know the reasons for the board’s decision to oust Amaro because of closed sessions related to “personnel” discussions. Truth of it is, Amaro didn’t have a chance of continuing as the election’s director, and that’s the long and short of it.
Human remains discovered on July 30 in the 1300 block of Deep Creek Road have been identified by the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as Laniyah Danyell Whitted, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. “While this outcome is heartbreaking, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office is grateful that Laniyah has been found and identified, allowing her family to finally have answers after years of uncertainty,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The young woman was 17 when she first was reported missing on November 23, 2021. Kabron Markel Thaggard, 22, was arrested and charged with Whitted’s murder. Not only heartbreaking, but a senseless act of violence.
This hot weather is working my central air-conditioning nonstop, and I’ve got the July bill from the Fayetteville Public Works Commission as proof. And you likely do, too.
Marvin Allan was a longtime Fayetteville resident, and you never saw him without a smile and a welcoming way. He was a proud soldier who served on Fort Bragg before retiring and becoming known for his Marvin Allan Door Co. If you had a garage door in need of repair, you could count on Marvin Allan. Marvin Henry Allan died at age 90 on August 1. A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Village Drive. Visitation from 10–11 a.m. precedes the service.
“Bill, thanks for writing the article on my friend’s passing,” Jonathan Charleston wrote in an email about my July 29 column remembering former Cumberland County Commissioner Jonathan “Johnnie” Evans VI, who died at age 85 on July 23. “Johnnie was a very generous person and always helpful to me during his active years. Thanks for sharing his story with your readers.”
“Hey Bill, what an amazing round young Horne accomplished,” Nimocks Haigh wrote in an email about my August 5 column regarding 15-year-old golfer Nate Horne’s course-record score of 29-30 – 59 on July 31 at Highland Country Club. “Way back when I played, Highland holes 1 and 16 were par 4s. Did he hole out on those two or has there been a change? Thanks, and I most always enjoy your stories.” He eagled the 351-yard No. 1, a par four, with a pitching wedge from 49 yards away and eagled the par four 16th from about the same distance. You were a good golfer in your heyday back in the 1960s, Nimocks, but these youngsters today just hit the golf ball longer than we did.
“Great article on Nate,” Carol Quigg wrote in an email about Nate Horne’s record round at HCC. “You captured the excitement among the guys as the possibility of a 59 was becoming a reality. I have never seen 10 birdies and two eagles in one golf game, even among the professionals. How nice that his buddies and his dad got to watch history being made at HCC. I think that number will hold for some time.”
“That was a great story on our team victory in Pinehurst,” Bo Morehead, father of Terry Sanford High School golf coach Jeff Morehead, wrote in an email about my July 26 column regarding the school winning the 2026 PGA High School Boys Golf National Invitational title on July 18-19 at the No. 5 and No. 6 courses at Pinehurst Resort. “Everyone thought it was well done and first class. You have been designated as team writer. Also, the Nate Horne article [of July 31] was super.” Nate Horne, Walker Worth IV, Hughes McCarthy, Charlie Horne, Ryan Hedgecoe and Taft Courie, Mr. Morehead, are outstanding youngsters on and off the golf course. All the credit to great parents.
Bevan Grice is the new chair of Myrover-Reese Recovery Homes on Wilkes Road. “As chair, I look forward to supporting the organization’s mission, strengthening community partnerships and helping ensure that Myrover-Reese continues to provide hope, healing and second chances for those affected by substance use disorders,” Grice said in the nonprofit’s August newsletter. “Together, we will build on the organization’s 64-year legacy of service while continuing to grow, innovate and meet the evolving needs of our community.” My late newspaper friend, Pat Reese, is smiling.
Coming Sunday: Hurricane season is in the offing, so be prepared.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
