City residents wondering about whether Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins can retain his District 5 seat on the Fayetteville City Council can rest assured that, indeed, Dawkins says he can. “The ordinance requirement is the council member has to reside in the council district which he or she represents,” Dawkins says. “I reside in District 5, as I represent District 5 on the City Council.” Dawkins says he sold his VanStory Hills home and now lives in Haymount. “I did mention to staff, many months ago, I was moving but that I continue to reside in District 5. Before I secured my present residence, I reviewed the maps from the Raleigh lawyers doing the redistricting to make sure. I would continue to reside in District 5.” While some of us are perplexed by Dawkins’ support of proposed four-year, staggered terms for council members and his support of former Councilman Chris Davis’ appointment to the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, he is an elected and bona fide City Council member. Had the mayor pro tem moved to another City Council district, that would be another story.
• • •
“Thank you for attending our event Monday and for the opinion piece,” Lisette Rodriguez writes in an email about our March 20 coverage and March 21 column about a town-hall meeting at Arthur D. Smith Recreation Center as Rodriguez and community activist Shaun McMillan advocated for an “office of community safety” of mental health professionals to work with the Fayetteville Police Department. “I noticed a few mistakes and wanted to send over some edits. McMillan isn’t a part of Fayetteville Freedom for All.” And, Rodriguez says, Jada Johnson being shot 17 times by a city police officer on July 1 came from “the autopsy report,” and McMillan did say the woman had a handgun.” Also, Rodriguez writes, “We did not say” there are plans to place a call for an OCS program on the November election ballot as a referendum. “We encouraged citizens to make this a November election issue for City Council this year.” The meeting, by your own news release, was presented by Say Yes to OCS, Community Awareness Alliance, Cape Fear Indivisible and Fayetteville Freedom for All. Shaun McMillan may not be a member of Fayetteville Freedom for All, but he has become a familiar community activist promoting the OCS often at public forums before the City Council. And, McMillan made a point in his own words Monday to say Jada Johnson was shot “17 times … twice in the head” at the town-hall meeting. CityView documented the autopsy report and clearly confirmed published autopsy reports. “The SBI completed their investigation in November of 2022 and was reportedly sent to the Special Prosecution Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office that same month,” Kemberle Braden, the city police chief, said Thursday in an email to CityView. I don’t recall McMillan saying Jada Johnson had a handgun or detailing all accounts of the tragic evening in the Briarwood Hills subdivision home of her grandparents. Or mentioning the 22-year-old woman’s 11/2-year-old daughter was in the home. If your organization has no plans to place the “Say Yes to OCS” on the November ballot as a referendum, then I stand corrected. OCS advocates Lisette Rodriguez and Shaun McMillan are passionate about what they believe, and there’s nothing wrong with being passionate about what you believe.
• • •
“I came because we had 44 homicides last year,” the Rev. Floyd Wicker told those who attended the community safety town-hall meeting moderated by Rodriguez and McMillan. “That was a lot of deaths. I came here tonight as a proponent of nonviolence. This is along the lines of restoring justice and addresses mental health needs. Again, 44 homicides last year, and that’s a lot.” True, 44 homicides would be 44 too many. But not all were because of mental health issues.
• • •
For city residents concerned about crime, you’ll have an opportunity to meet with new Police Chief Kemberle Braden, district captains, lieutenants, sergeants and patrol officers at an open house scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. March 30 at the Campbellton District Station adjacent to City Hall. Braden and his staff will be on hand to answer your questions and talk about your concerns, according to the Police Department. A second open house is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. April 12 at the Cross Creek Station on Raeford Road, and a third open house is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. April 25 at the Central Station on Sycamore Dairy Road. I told you this new police chief would be making a difference in the city, and Kemberle Braden is a chief with a receptive ear to your crime concerns.
• • •
“Our goal is to start a conversation and work toward ‘collaborative policing’ in our community,” Cynthia Leeks says about a Seabrook-Broadell Neighborhood Community Watch meeting held Thursday at Smith Recreation Center. Neighborhood residents had an opportunity to hear from Police Chief Kemberle Braden, Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright and Roberto Bryan, chief of Fayetteville State University police. The meeting was moderated by Angela Taylor, associate professor of criminal just at FSU. Leeks is president of the Seabrook-Broadell Neighborhood Community Watch.
• • •
“My acclimation to the county is going well,” says Clarence Grier, the new county manager for Cumberland County. “Working a few projects: landfill, water access in some of the rural areas of the county, and the FY24 budget.” Grier, former deputy city manager in Roanoke, Virginia, began in March, succeeding the retired Amy Cannon as the county’s chief executive.
• • •
“This building is a crown jewel,” interim Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin told the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners on Monday about the $17 million public safety building scheduled to open in May. McLaughlin told the board right, and Hope Mills residents can be proud of the public safety building.
• • •
“Bill, thank you for the excellent and heartfelt tribute to Lorry,” former Fayetteville Observer reporter Tim Bass writes about our March 5 column remembering Lorry Williams, the late managing editor of CityView’s digital publication, now in its second year, and CityView Magazine. “Your piece captured her spirit and sounded the right notes. In reading, I learned some things about her that I hadn’t known. Also, at the cemetery, you were so good with Lorry’s mother. It seemed that’s what she needed — people standing around her and telling her how much they loved her daughter. Thank you for what you did and for what you wrote about Lorry. I was glad to see you, though sorry that it happened at a funeral, especially for such a good journalist and person. Indeed, we’ll miss Lorry.” Lorry Williams, former executive editor of The Fayetteville Observer, died at age 59 on Feb. 28 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. Lorry Williams always will be a part of the newspaper, where she worked from 1988 to 2021, and Lorry always will be a part of CityView Media.
• • •
The Special Olympics Spring Games for Cumberland County are scheduled for opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. April 3 at Monarch Stadium on the Methodist University campus. Members of the Fayetteville Police Department are scheduled to do the torch run. The games are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to a city spokesman. It’s been a long time since I attended these games that once were sponsored by The Fayetteville Times, then the morning newspaper, and I must tell you it can be rewarding just cheering on the participants. The games are under the auspices of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation.
• • •
So, here’s your chance to enjoy your choice of chili or cheesy potato soup, a brownie, and a beverage and win a $50,000 automobile at the 16th annual Bread ’n’ Bowls fundraiser for Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch that is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 30 at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. The cost is $15, and for $25 you have your meal served in a hand-painted pottery bowl to take home. The car raffle ticket is $125, with the drawing scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the church fellowship hall. All raffle ticket purchases must be received by 11:59 p.m. March 29. Even if you don’t win a BMW or a Volkswagen from the Valley Auto World dealership, the chili and the potato soup can be quite tasty. Send email inquiries to raffle@faoiam.org or call 910 433-2161.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
