The Rev. Archie Barringer says he is heading to Monday’s meeting of the Fayetteville City Council at City Hall to plead with Mayor Mitch Colvin and the council to remove the words “Black Lives Do Matter” that encircle the historic Market House. “Every time you drive around it, it’s a throwback to the night the Market House was set on fire,” Barringer says about May 30, 2020, when provocateurs smashed windows and set fire to the building’s stairway. All to the tune of $85,000 in damage during a demonstration sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the custody of police officers. The Market House is where some Blacks were sold as slaves in the 1800s. “It’s a new day,” Barringer says. “We need to set the example. Why not replace it with red, white and blue saying, ‘We’re an All-America City,’ and on the other side, ‘All Lives Matter?’ It would be a good, neutral stance to take, and it would be positive. I feel it’s the right thing to do.” Some council members silently agree with Barringer, but those council members are reluctant to speak out. A retired Army chaplain and former chief of chaplain services at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, Barringer will receive some pushback. While he fully anticipates some opposition, Barringer says what’s there now is a “reminder of what divides us,” and arguably there may be in his words some gospel truth.
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With the Tuesday primary just five days from now, we’re about to find out if a fellow in a fedora hat, another in a yellow headband, a woman who likes to write letters to President Joe Biden about our homeless population, a former city councilman, a woman with the best campaign signs of this political season or a mother who knows gun violence firsthand will continue in their respective bids to change the face of the Fayetteville City Council. Tuesday’s top two vote-getters in the mayoral race and District 2 and District 5 competitions advance to the Nov. 7 general election.
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There have been 2,486 ballots cast in the early-voting period that began Sept. 21 and closes at 3 p.m. Saturday, according to Angie Amaro, director of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. There were 288 voters as of 4 p.m. Thursday. There are 128,415 city residents who are registered to vote in Fayetteville out of a population in this municipality of about 208,000. Just shy of 2,500 early votes cast is 1.94% by my calculator, and that’s voter apathy personified.
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Venus de la Cruz has the best political message of the political season. “If you don’t vote it, it doesn’t matter,” the wife of Freddie de la Cruz, who is making a second bid for the mayoral gavel, says on her Facebook page. “So far, only about 215 voters per day have come out since early voting started. That’s pitiful. Please, make time to vote. Without you, there will be no change. Don’t let someone else decide for you.” No matter if you are supporting Mayor Mitch Colvin or challengers Charles Evans, Quancidine Hinson-Gribble or Freddie de la Cruz, that’s sound advice.
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A 39-year-old man is the 38th homicide victim of 2023, according to the Fayetteville Police Department. He was the victim of a carjacking at 12:36 a.m. Tuesday on B Street. He was shot multiple times by an unknown assailant brandishing a gun and demanding keys to the victim’s vehicle, according to an Police Department news release. The victim, the release stated, was taken to a local hospital, where he died a result of his injuries. Police say a second person in the vehicle was not harmed. Anyone with information about the homicide should contact Detective J. Bergamine at 910-705-2093 or submit an anonymous tip to Fayetteville-Cumberland County CrimeStoppers at http://fay-nccrimestoppers.org or by calling 910-483-TIPS (8477).
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The city is initiating what it calls deployment of SoundThinking, a gunshot detection technology, according to a news release, to track gun violence in response to gunshots on Sept. 28. “This is an opportunity to use technology to help address a top priority for City Council, the city and our residents,” City Manager Douglas Hewett says in the release. “We consistently seek ways to support City Council’s strategic goal to make Fayetteville a safe and secure city for our residents, and while this is only one action, it’s not the last action we will take to reduce gun violence in our city.” Formerly known as ShotSpotter, the SoundThinking detection technology is being implemented along the Murchison Road corridor, in the Massey Hill area and in a section of west Fayetteville to include Cliffdale and South Reilly roads.
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Always give credit where credit is due, and former Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson is making a difference since taking over the once floundering Greater Fayetteville Chamber. “We need to just get back to basics,” Robertson said in May, when he was selected as president and chief executive officer of the chamber. “This is a time to rebuild: Doing the types of things that the members are expecting, meeting the expectations of the members. And that’s what I’m here to do.” Robertson served two terms as Fayetteville mayor from 2013 to 2017.
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Linda Devore has received the Mary Lynn McCree Bryan Leadership Award from the Cumberland Community Foundation for her leadership and dedication with the Cumberland County Council on Older Adults. The award was created in honor of Mary Lynn Bryan for her leadership as chairwoman of the Cumberland Community Foundation board of directors. When you are recipient of the Mary Lynn McCree Bryan Award, that is an honor to display proudly in your home.
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“Hello, Bill. I just returned from another Mayberry Days festival in Mount Airy last week and got to spend some time with Ronnie Schell, aka Duke Slater, from ‘Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.,’” Phil Barnard writes in an email. “I know that you reconnected Ronnie and Elizabeth MacRae a couple of years ago, but apparently Ronnie didn’t keep her phone number. He said he would love to speak with her again and even gave me his phone number to give to her. If you still have her contact information, would you please ask her to give Ronnie a call. I hope she and her husband, Charles, are doing well. And I’d also appreciate you letting her know we all miss her terribly at Mayberry Days. She is thought of very fondly by so many.” Elizabeth MacRae, who portrayed Jim Nabors’ girlfriend, Lou-Ann Poovie, on the television series “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.” and also appeared on “The Andy Griffith Show” and countless other television shows in the 1960s, is to my knowledge doing well. She last year was inducted into the Fayetteville Performing Arts Hall of Fame. I will, Mr. Barnard, get you in touch with Lou-Ann Poovie.
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“The Lafayette Society was honored to maintain the Sister City relationship for almost 30 years, and we are proud of the vigor with which we maintained that relationship,” Hank Parfitt says about the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold Sister City relationship that began in 1993 between this city and the city in France. “We are also proud of Kris Johnson and the work she is doing with the Fayetteville-Saint-Avold Friendship Alliance. As the Lafayette Society took on more and more responsibilities as an educational and civic organization, it became clear to our board that Fayetteville needed a separate group focused just on the Sister City. While she was on our board, Kris learned all about Saint-Avold, and it became her real passion. We encouraged her to start an alliance and supported her in doing so. The fact that both organizations are thriving and contributing to the cultural life of the community proves that our board’s decision was the correct one.”
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Trouble is brewing at the Addams family mansion at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Haymount, where Gomez, the family patriarch, is facing every father’s nightmare. His daughter, described as the ultimate princess of darkness, has fallen head-over-heels in love with her sweet and “normal” boyfriend. And Gomez must keep the secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. And guess who is dropping by the mansion and the theater for dinner. The boyfriend’s family. Theater Artistic Director Mary Catherine Burke is directing the play, and be assured the production will be outstanding. “The Addams Family: A Musical Comedy” runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 5, and tickets are on sale. The box office telephone number is 910-323-4233.
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The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Monday recognized nonprofit organizations that the board approved $1.7 million in funding for as part of the Cumberland County Nonprofit Fiscal Recovery Assistance Program. Recipients of $50,000 each were the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, Vision Resource Center, Beaver Dam Volunteer Fire Department, Cumberland HealthNet, Better Health of Cumberland County, Boys and Girls Clubs of Cumberland County, Carolina Collaborative Community Care, Connections of Cumberland County, Cotton Volunteer Fire Department, Cumberland County Coordinating Council on Older Adults, Cumberland Residential & Employment Services & Training, Cumberland Road Volunteer Fire Department, Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, Employment Source dba ServiceSource, Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County, Stoney Point Fire Department, The Tulsa Initiative, Fayetteville Urban Ministry, First Baptist Church on Moore Street, Gray’s Creek Fire Department No. 24, Kingdom Community Development Corp., Miller’s Crew, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, The Enclave, School of Hope and Westover Volunteer Fire Department. Cape Fear Botanical Garden received $49,977. Sustainable Sandhills received $49,907. United Way of Cumberland County received $49,700. The Fayetteville Animal Protection Society received $44,748. Spring Lake Family Support Services received $41,812. Community Based Development Services received $37,650. Community Health Interventions received $37,350. Staff Sgt James B. Dennis VFW Post 6018 received $28,500. Fresh Innovations Mentoring and Resources received $25,000. New Life Christ Ministries received $20,000. Meeting Ground of Christ Jesus Outreach and Deliverance Ministries received $20,000. Righteous Guide Ministries received $20,000. Global Covenant received $15,000, and Gate Beautiful receive $10,000. The appropriations, according to the county, were approved by commissioners on April 17 and June 19. Nonprofits that provide public health services received consideration in the amount of $579.725 as per the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Coming Sunday: The local YMCA is back in business.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
