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Bill Kirby Jr.: You can reach out to others during GivingTuesday campaign

GivingTuesday is Nov. 29, according to the Cumberland Community Foundation.
GivingTuesday is Nov. 29, according to the Cumberland Community Foundation.
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If you have a favorite nonprofit organization in Cumberland County, you will want to keep in mind GivingTuesday on Nov. 29, according to the Cumberland Community Foundation. Seventy-six local nonprofits are on the foundation’s list. Donations can be made online through Nov. 30. The family of Eleanor and Raymond Manning, the Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association, Elizabeth M. “Beth” Keeney, the CCF board, board alumni and an anonymous donor have joined to offer $475,000 to match your gift or gifts throughout the GivingTuesday campaign. You have until 5 p.m. Nov. 30 to have your gift amplified. Reach out to Mary Holmes, president and chief executive officer of the foundation, at 910-483-4449, Ext. 103, or Mary Anne Brooks, chief financial officer, at 910-483-4449, Ext. 106. Or go to Gifts@CumberlandCF.org.

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Now, see what can happen when people come together as one. The 23rd annual A Dickens Holiday, sponsored the Downtown Alliance merchants, is scheduled from 1 to 9 p.m. today downtown at Franklin Square, including a 5:15 p.m. candle lighting. “Holidays on Hay … A Season of Lights,” sponsored by the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County, is scheduled from 3 to 9 p.m. along Hay Street, replete with a Christmas tree lighting at 6 p.m. and a drone light show beginning at 7 p.m. In the words of A Dickens Holiday town crier John Malzone, “You may cheer!”

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“I've always gotten it right with a chief,” City Manager Doug Hewett tells our Michael Futch about his search to find a successor to Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins, who is retiring on Jan. 17 after five years on the job. You’ll beg our pardon, Mr. City Manager, as some of us disagree with you on that one.

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Something the city manager has absolutely right is that he is looking for the next city police chief to have a commitment to Fayetteville “beyond the job,” and all of us should agree there.

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Wednesday, according to the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners, is Amy H. Cannon Day in what will be Cannon’s last day on the job as county manager for the past eight years. Cannon has worked for the county for 32 years.

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“Thank you for the nice article about the HPC Thanksgiving dinner project,” longtime member Karl Legatski writes in an email about our Nov. 23 column on the 30th annual Thanksgiving Day dinner benevolence at Highland Presbyterian Church. The church delivered just shy of 2,500 meals for the less fortunate in this community, and that is something worthy of writing about.

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Speaking of holiday traditions, the Singing Christmas Tree is up in the sanctuary at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, with six performances scheduled and beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. Other dates are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3, and 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4. Call 910-484-3191 for ticket information.

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Breath of Heaven is the theme for the Singing Christmas Tree at Highland Baptist Church at 4456 Legion Road in Hope Mills. Performances are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, 3 and 4. For ticket information, send email inquiries to highlandbaptistchurch@gmail.com or call 910-425-9303 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

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“Lennie’s ashes were buried Nov. 13 with a group of about 40 gathering after at Suttons Drug Store for drinks, dinner and wonderful memories of Lennie being told,” Carol Quigg says about the late Lennie Rosenbluth, who was remembered as the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team defeated College of Charleston. Rosenbluth led UNC to the 1957 NCAA national title and a 32-0 season as Joe Quigg converted the winning free throws for a 54-53 victory over Kansas in triple overtime. “Tom Kearns and Joe were two of the remaining three from that team in attendance,” Mrs. Quigg says. “Lennie’s wife, Dianne, his family, ourselves and a handful more of maybe 15 in all met prior to the game for dinner in the Smith Center tunnel.” Lennie Rosenbluth was 89 when he died June 18 in Chapel Hill.

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“It is a labor of love,” Mike McCaskill says about the Massey Hill Lions Club oyster roast that will be celebrating its 50th year on Jan. 28. “This event requires a lot of work and effort by this service organization that the men of the club provide for the community. Proceeds from this function continue to be put back into the community by providing eye exams and glasses for those in need, feeding the homeless of Fayetteville, Boys and Girls Home funding, and myriad other projects for the schools, local families” and more. The 50th anniversary oyster roast is a huge accomplishment for us considering the continuous increase in oyster prices, the scarcity of quality oysters and an aging group of Lions members that put out a huge effort to make this happen in keeping with the spirit of the Lions motto: ‘We Serve.’” Kudos to the Massey Hill Lions Club.

Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.

Fayetteville, , GivingTuesday, Christmas, oyster roast

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