Cape Fear Valley Medical Center is adding 24 beds to its Pediatric Emergency Department, expanding waiting areas in the pediatric and adult waiting rooms, and renovating other parts of the facility
“This expansion is about making sure we have the space and resources to continue meeting the emergency care needs of our community as it grows,” Daniel Weatherly, the Cape Fear Valley Health System chief executive officer, said in a news release. “The additional 24 beds in the Pediatric Emergency Department will give children and their families a dedicated environment designed around their needs while expanding our capacity to meet future demand for pediatric emergency services. These improvements are about more than adding space. They are an investment in our patients, our families and our community, and will allow us to provide emergency care in an environment that better supports the people we serve today while preparing us for continued growth in the future.”
The emergency department, according to the release, still will be open 24-7 throughout construction.
Patricia Jackson is the new executive director of Connections of Cumberland County, a nonprofit that assists homeless women or those experiencing housing instability. Lucy Jones, the board president, said Jackson is perfect for the job. “We knew she was the right person to build on the work of Connections and help expand our impact in the community,” Jones said in a news release.
“I am honored to lead Connections of Cumberland County and to continue serving a community that has become home to me,” Jackson said in the release. “I have seen what is possible when organizations, community leaders, volunteers and neighbors come together with a shared purpose. I look forward to building on that spirit of collaboration at Connections. Every woman who comes to Connections deserves more than help for just today. She deserves the opportunity to build a tomorrow in which she and her children can thrive. That is the work before us, and it’s work worth doing.” Jackson is a Florida native and U.S. Army veteran.
Janet Brower was recipient of the 2026 Mary Lynn McCree Bryan Leadership Award on September 24 as the Cumberland Community Foundation celebrated its 46th year at Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Brower was recognized for her leadership on the board of the Sandhills Family Heritage Association in Spring Lake, where for the past 10 years she has guided the association in support of families and historic preservation, according to a news release. The award is in honor of Bryan, who served on the foundation board of directors for 24 years, and its chair for four years.
“Whew, you said it all brother,” Councilmember D.J. Haire said after John Jones finished his report to the Fayetteville City Council on Monday about the inaugural year under Jones as director of the Office of Community Safety. “You gave us a lot tonight. You touched on 692 unhoused and 550 referrals and 180 mental health referrals and 1300 residents you reached out to for safe space and 300 youth engaged. That’s good stats.” Haire was right. The Office of Community Safety apparently is making a difference. You can also watch Jones deliver the report.
Our county schools need to “get back to teaching our kids trades” because “we’re lacking in heating and air, electricians, plumbers, welders,” Bryan Moore said on a recent campaign stop. Moore is one of 16 candidates running for three at-large seats on the Cumberland County Board of Education. And Moore said it right.
On Wednesday, medical personnel were dispatched at approximately 8:27 p.m. to the 6500 block of Amanda Circle where they found a man who was shot and later died. On September 25, a man was found dead after Fayetteville police responded to a report about shots fired at 8:31 p.m. in the 2100 block of Cedar Creek Road, according to a news release. With the death of an 86-year-old St. Pauls woman, who was dining at the Golden Corral restaurant on September 3 on Skibo Road, there have been 20 homicides in the city in 2026, according to a Fayetteville Police Department spokesperson. A 26-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter in the woman’s death at the restaurant.
There’s just something splendid about the colorful autumn season.
With the passing of Weeks Parker Jr., Fayetteville and Cumberland County have lost an encyclopedia of history. “I was born here, and I wanted to learn all I could about my hometown,” Parker said in November of 2022 after receiving the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Parker was an author, photographer, historian, engineering icon, and musician. His first book, Fayetteville, North Carolina: A Pictorial History, was published in 1984. Weeks Parker Jr. died at age 96 on September 10.
Robert Malloy will be remembered at 2 p.m. today as a dedicated Laurinburg police chief when the N.C. Department of Transportation unveils the Chief Robert L. Malloy Bridge located at U.S. 74-U.S. 501 over U.S. 15 Business-U.S. 401 Business (Main Street) in the Scotland County town. Malloy was chief from 1987 until his retirement in 2007. A Scotland County native and U.S. Army veteran, Robert Lee Malloy died at age 76 on February 1, 2024.
October is Blindness Awareness Month, and the Vision Resource Center at 2736 Cedar Creek Road has scheduled a town hall from 11 a.m.–noon on October 7, where the vision impaired will have an opportunity to tell community leaders about challenges they face every day. “We want our members and others in the disability community to have a space where they can talk openly about what is working, what barriers they continue to experience and what they would like community leaders to understand,” Maureen Pacheco with the VRC said in a news release. Advance registration is encouraged, but all are welcome. Advance registration is encouraged by emailing community@visionresourcecentercc.org or calling 901-847-5886.
Coming Sunday: Longtime Fayetteville dermatologist is calling it a career.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
