The ongoing drought prompted the Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) to activate what it describes as a Stage 1 alert of the city’s Water Shortage Response Ordinance.
“Small conservation steps made by many can make a big difference,” Timothy Bryant, chief executive officer for the city-owned utility, said in a news release. “These voluntary measures help save the water supply for essential needs like drinking water, sanitation and fire protection while PWC continues to provide safe, reliable and affordable service to the community.”
PWC customers are encouraged to limit non-essential use of water, such as outdoor watering; washing vehicles, equipment, and hard surfaces; filling or refilling swimming pools, ponds, and fountains; avoiding non-essential fire hydrant use; and do not use treated water for dust control or compaction. Water shortage conditions are managed in defined stages, according to the release, with conservation measures increasing if conditions worsen and easing step-by-step if conditions improve. The city-owned PWC provides electricity, water, and sewer service to more than 300,000 people in and around Fayetteville.
On the subject of this summer heat wave, it’s had my air-conditioning working overtime, and I’ve got the PWC bill from June to prove it. And you likely do, too.
If you are driving through downtown Fayetteville, be mindful of construction work around the Market House. An ongoing project is improving pedestrian safety and accessibility. Improvements, according to the city, include expanding the center plaza by approximately 2,950 square feet; improving pedestrian facilities, pavement striping, and crosswalks; installing two pedestrian splitter islands and crosswalk connections to the historic structure; adding an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant ramp from the Hay Street approach; resurfacing the roadway around the Market House; installing a new catch basin drainage structure for better stormwater flow; and upgrading signage and pavement markings to enhance pedestrian visibility and safety. It’s being done at a cost of $648,519.20, according to the city, with completion anticipated in late fall.
If you are motoring along Raeford Road near Ireland Drive, you’ll need some patience and alertness beginning July 13 as work crews will be installing a larger drainage pipe for Buckhead Creek, according to a news release from the N.C. Department of Transportation. Lanes in both directions of Raeford Road near McDonald’s at Ireland Drive will be closed for about two weeks so crews can safely excavate the area and keep motorists out of danger. Pay attention to detour direction signs and be patient as the work crews will be at it around the clock.
Brittany Tschida Odom has been promoted to chief operating officer for the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corp. “I am honored by this opportunity and grateful for the confidence that Robert Van Geons (chief executive officer) and our board have placed in me,” Odom said in a news release. “As a native of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, I am passionate about helping our community grow and prosper. I look forward to continuing our work to attract investment, support workforce development and create opportunities that strengthen our community.” Odom joined the FCEDC in December 2023 as a communications specialist and later was promoted to marketing manager.
A 21-year-old man was discovered deceased from gunshot wounds on the 700 block of State Avenue at 4:03 a.m. on July 5 after Fayetteville police responded to a ShotSpotter alert near Murchison Road. Police said a male juvenile victim arrived at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries related to the shooting and currently is in stable condition. The fatal shooting is the city’s 15th homicide of 2026. Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to contact Det. E. Alrafai at 910-723-0327.
Wilhelmena Sapp was honored on June 18 for her leadership and contributions to the Cumberland Community Foundation, which include the Community Scholarship Committee, the Grants Evaluation Committee, the Arts & Enrichment Grants Committee, and the Community Grants Committee. Along with her husband, Fred, she has been a donor to CCF since 2007 and they regularly support many funds at the foundation. The Sapps are founders of the Sapp Family Endowment at the foundation.
“Most everyone believes that Judge Clark was truly the greatest,” lawyer Mike McGuiness of Elizabethtown said about retired Bladen County Superior Court Resident Judge Giles Robertson Clark, who died at age 96 on July 4. “The Honorable Giles R. Clark was a legal giant and much more. While he was universally respected as a top-tier judge, he was also the finest southern gentleman. He inspired us with vast legal and practical wisdom, and he made us better lawyers and better people.”
Some good news for the Arts Council of Fayetteville | Cumberland County, which received a $6,000 grant to support Artists in Schools from the Youth Growth Stock Trust managed by United Way-Cumberland County. “This grant helps us bring professional artists into Cumberland County classrooms and make arts learning more accessible for students,” Kashia Knight, arts education manager at the Arts Council, said in a news release. “Artists In Schools give young people meaningful opportunities to see, hear, move, create and connect with learning in new ways. We are thankful to the Youth Growth Stock Trust for supporting this work and helping more students experience the arts.” Established in 1992, the Youth Growth Stock Grant was the late Robert Short’s financial gift supporting the well-being of our community’s youth.
There’s a pall at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, where Ricardo Morgan is being remembered as an everyman actor with a love for the stage. “He was such a universal actor,” Mary Kate Burke, the theater’s artist director, said Wednesday. “And he loved nothing more than to tell stories and share the human experience on stage. He was a still river that ran deep. It was a great place to be on the stage for him, and he just loved it. He called the theater and the other actors his theater family. The mark of lifelong friends is the mark of friends he leaves behind.” Ricardo Morgan was 62 when he died July 7.
Rain, rain, rain, feel free to come our way. Just a thought in these hot summer days.
Halleluia. “This budget delivers the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years and overall teacher pay raise in 15 years,” said Gov. Josh Stein after signing the 2026-2027 state budget. Public school teachers can look for an 8% pay increase and starting teacher salaries to $48,000 per year, up from approximately $41,000. Remember, before we became doctors, nurses, lawyers, educators, and business people, there were teachers.
Coming Sunday: “With the help of God,” and the Myrover-Reese Recovery Homes.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
