Call this a significant day for the Fayetteville Public Works Commission as Ronna Rowe Garrett, the utility chairwoman, will be telling us who the utility has hired as its new chief executive officer and general manager to succeed Elaina Ball, who resigned Sept. 2. The new CEO will not be at today’s 8:30 a.m. meeting for the announcement, but word has it that he is experienced in leading a utility and community-minded, much like Ball. Along with Garrett, PWC board members are Donald L. Porter, Evelyn O. Shaw and Christopher Davis.
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Charles Evans is back in the political arena, and this time the former city councilman and Cumberland County commissioner is making a bid for the city’s mayoral gavel. “Our top priority in this community must be the people,” Evans, 63, says in a news release. He will be throwing his political background into the ring to challenge three-term incumbent Mitch Colvin, Freddie de la Cruz and Quancidine Hinson-Gribble in the Oct. 10 municipal primary and, hopefully, the Nov. 7 general election should Evans survive the primary. “Fayetteville residents deserve to feel safe, and we can’t stop until we achieve that for everyone. Our community will never be truly great for any of us until it is great for all of us. We must also give our police the resources to keep our community safe.” A safe and secure city should be a priority for any elected city official, and you cannot argue with Evans on that point. Evans is expected to file Friday, as all municipal filings close at noon. Evans says he was attending a community watch meeting recently when he told two members of the organization that he was considering a run for the state House or state Senate. “One lady stated that they need me here in Fayetteville,” Evans says. “I seriously thought about that conversation and realized that was why I ran for city councilman in 2003, to make a difference in Fayetteville for those citizens that appear not to have a voice in local government. They need that voice. I’ve been that voice for over the past 16 years for the citizens here in Fayettevillle and Cumberland County.” Evans represented District 2 on the City Council from 2005 to 2009 and was a county commissioner from 2010 to 2022 before an unsuccessful run for the 7th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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“The real reason I filed was to be a voice for the Fayetteville Police Department and support pay raises for these officers who have withstood such hell from lecherous and destructive council people,” says David Mann, a certified public accountant who is bidding for a District 2 City Council seat against incumbent Shakeyla Ingram and challengers Janene Ackles and Laura Ann Mussler. All a moot point now, Mann tells CityView, because he has withdrawn as a candidate. “If I am still here in two years and have an organization, I may take a run. I do not see a bright future for this city given what we have now.”
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Juanita Gonzales is a former Fayetteville City Council member who attended several council meetings, including one on April 19 to tell freshman Councilman Derrick Thompson and other council members to put their focus on the two years they are elected to serve rather than worrying about four-year terms. “What I’m here to say is you need to do the job that you were elected to do,” said Gonzales, also a former county commissioner and school board member. “You need to do the job that you’re getting paid to do, and you need to be worrying about the people and not yourself.” Gonzales is one of the better council members ever to serve this city as a staunch defender of protecting neighborhoods and a blueprint for every councilman and councilwoman.
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The shooting death of a 19-year-old Hope Mills woman brings the 2023 homicide total in the city to 32, according to the Fayetteville Police Department, including the gunshot death of a 52-year-old man at a home on the 300 block of Dallas Street. The teenager died at the scene in the 800 block of Bragg Boulevard at about 1:30 a.m., according to the FPD. Responding police officers found the teenager suffering from a fatal gunshot wound in parking lot of a Valero gas station. At about the same time, a man arrived at a local hospital, according to the FPD, with non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the shooting. Both homicides occurred on July 17. A 44-year-old is in custody in the shooting death on Dallas Street. No suspects have been identified to date in the death of the teenager. By the numbers, there were 28 homicides in the city this time a year ago, according to the FPD, and 44 homicides in 2022.
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“I was not aware that elected council members received opportunity for health benefits,” Linda Philbrick, a CityView reader, writes in an email in reference to our June 19 column on health benefits for the Fayetteville City Council. “Do commissioners have that perk from the county? I hope you will pursue this issue and let all of us know. Thanks for your wonderful articles. The one on Sandy Singer touched the entire community. Very heartfelt. We always look forward to reading your articles.” Yes, indeed, county commissioners, according to Assistant County Manager Sally Shutt, are eligible to enroll in the county health plans afforded to county employees.
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Gail Appenzeller Riddle has large shoes to fill in succeeding Bruce Dantzler as chairperson of the Cumberland Community Foundation. Dantzler’s achievements during his two-year chairman’s term, according to the foundation, include a five-year strategic plan, the Giving Tuesday Campaign that generated $2.4 million in 2022, 57 new donor funds and his leadership to support the Cape Fear Region Theatre capital campaign that included $500,000 and an additional $5 million from the state. And not to overlook his creation of the Dr. Gloria Dantzler and Sgt. 1st Class Leon Dantzler Sr. Memorial Scholarship in memory of his parents. And he was a steadying leader for the CCF staff during the COVID-19 health pandemic. Strong footsteps to follow, but the foundation will find the perfect leader, too, in Gail Appenzeller Riddle.
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“As a veteran, an educator and a retired nurse, I can definitely say the Cumberland Community Foundation makes a huge difference for the good in our community,” says outgoing Cumberland Community Foundation board member Sandy Monroe in the foundation newsletter. “I was proud to establish the Agnes Jacob Wilkins Memorial Endowment for Nursing in honor of my mother. I know my mother ‘the nurse’ will be remembered forever and nursing students will have the support needed to complete their nursing program and help others.” That, Mrs. Monroe, says it well. Also leaving the board after 12 years are Jim Konneker, Eva Williams and Libby Daniel. During their 12 years, according to the newsletter, CCF assets grew from $48.5 million to $120.1 million, an increase of $71 million or 147%. The growth includes designated and agency endowments from $13.4 million to $37.3 million; donor funds from 442 to 623; and grants and scholarships paid at $53,404,112.01 representing 13,291 transactions.
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Jan Johnson and Pat Wright can’t wait for their eighth annual Indigo Moon Film Fest in the fall. “2023 will be a great year for IMFF,” Johnson says in a news release about the festival that is scheduled Oct. 13-15 downtown. “We continue to grow each year thanks in no small part to the generosity of the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County and the many businesses and individuals across the region who want to support the art of film.” Johnson and Wright founded GroundSwell Pictures in 2014, according to its website, and create films that highlight important social issues that can lead to meaningful social change. Jan Johnson and Pat Wright do it right, and they make a difference with their passion for film. This fall’s festival is supported with help from a Project Support Grant from the Arts Council.
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Ten teachers are finalists for 2024 Teacher of the Year for Cumberland County Schools. They are, according to the school system, Steven Barbour, Terry Sanford High School; Terria Bender, Gray’s Creek Middle School; Devondra Covington, Westover Middle School; Patricia DeHaan, Lake Rim Elementary School; David Gilchrist, John Griffin Middle School; Candace Hamilton, Reid Ross Classical Middle School; Katheryn “Kathy” Lee, Cape Fear High School; Jessica Osnoe, Massey Hill Classical School; Ashley Tang-Halverson, Howard Hall Elementary School; and Venita Williams, Hope Mills Middle School. The Teacher of the Year will be announced Aug. 15 at the school district’s convocation.
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Those classes of 1964 and 1965 of Seventy-First High School were close-knit and the best of teenagers growing up under the watchful eye of Principal Loyd E. Auman on Raeford Road. “We all hung out at The Torch” drive-in, Donna Gibbs Haneline says about Larry Strother, president of the Class of 1964; Letta Fleming, who was Miss Seventy-First; and popular students Talmadge Bledsoe Potter, Elaine Grooms, Thad Mumau and Gene Cooper. Ralph Smith was president of the Class of 1965. Cecile Ashton Griffin was Miss Seventy-First and is still pretty as ever. Popular students were Mike Goff, Ron Kennedy, Beverly Lorenz Cordrey and Jerry Merritt. They will be among those gathering for a double class reunion from 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 9 at Embassy Suites Hotel, 4760 Lake Valley Drive, to relive yesteryear. The reunion will include dinner and musical entertainment. The cost is $25 per person. A hospitality room will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 8. For more information, send email inquiries to JoAnne Gibbs Yates at Jyates1@ec.rr.com or Donna Gibbs Haneline at donnahaneline@yahoo.com To register, mail checks to JoAnne Yates, 1201 Preservation Way, No. 105, Wilmington, N.C. 28405.
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You may remember that downtown parking ticket I wrote about, when Park Fayetteville issued the $15 fine on June 22 after the pay station failed to process my debit card for payment. An appeal and three reminders later, and there is still no word from Park Fayetteville, which said, according to the citation, you have 30 days to appeal or the fine may be subject to a $25 fine and “an assessment and judgment shall enter against you without further notice.” You, Park Fayetteville, never even have afforded me the courtesy of responding to my appeal or follow-up emails, and that is an inept way to run a business. I will consider sending you $2 for the two hours there. Beyond that, Park Fayetteville, you can take that ticket and shove it, and you can tell “America’s Can Do City” and the City Council just what I have to say about their flawed downtown parking that is in need of some attention and serious address. You may, Charles Evans, wish to add downtown parking to your mayoral campaign platform.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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