Hope Mills Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray and Commissioners Bryan Marley and Joanne Scarola have accepted an investigative report from a Charlotte lawyer, who says Commissioner Elyse Craver “more likely than not” made a racially discriminatory comment about “too many Blacks running” the town. Craver voted in opposition to the report. Commissioner Jerry Legge was not present for the vote. Craver, who was censured on Oct. 6 by McCray, Marley and Scarola, denies saying anything racist about town employees. “More likely than not” proves nothing. By the investigative lawyer’s own account, according to our CityView correspondent Jason Canady’s Oct. 24 report, it was a matter of “a two-on-two, he-said-she-said case.” Inconclusive, perhaps, would have been a better disposition at the least. Some 11,763 registered Hope Mills residents will tell us what and who to believe on Election Day as the 78-year-old Craver bids for a third town commissioner term, and the verdict will take place at the polling precincts and not at a Waffle House, where the alleged incident took place.
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Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Keefe Jensen and Fayetteville City Council members Malik Davis, Mario Benavente, Derrick Thompson, Brenda McNair, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, and Deno Hondros, according to the city, are scheduled to attend the 2025 National League of Cities City Summit from Nov. 19-22 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. That’s all well and good if Jensen is elected mayor on Nov. 4 and Davis, Thompson, McNair, and Hondros retain their respective council seats. But Benavente and Banks-McLaughlin will not be returning to the council, the result of their defeats for mayor in the Oct. 7 primary.
While all current council members registered for the summit before the primary, there’s no need for Benavente and Banks-McLaughlin to take a “road trip” on the city dime. Registration, airfare and hotel accommodations for Benavente, according to the city, cost $2,626.07 and $2,951.07 for Banks-McLaughlin. “Hotel cancellations are 24 hours in advance of arrival,” City Clerk Jennifer Ayre said Thursday. “Airfare, we have travel insurance on, and we work with them for refunding. At this point, no registration cannot be cancelled, but we can send substitutions.” A city council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 24, according to the city, and inauguration of the next Fayetteville City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Dec. 1 at J.W. Seabrook Auditorium on the Fayetteville State University campus.
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A Philadelphia architectural firm says in a federal lawsuit that Cumberland County has reneged on $1.3 million for design work for the ill-fated and now defunct Crown Event Center, which was scheduled for construction downtown but was abandoned in June by a 5-2 vote of Cumberland Board of County Commissioners Kirk deViere, Henry Tyson, Pavan Patel, Marshall Faircloth and Jeannette Council. Whoopsiedaisy. Sounds like there’s “some ‘splainin’ to do” somewhere.
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Capt. Thomas Farrell of the Fayetteville Fire Department was the recipient of the Gold Lifesaving Award on Oct. 9 for his life-saving efforts while facing personal danger to himself. Lt. Aaron Hagen, Jeffery Horne, and Jeremiah Williams were presented with the Silver Lifesaving Award for their actions at the FFD graduation, promotion and retirement ceremonies at Cape Fear Valley Health’s Center for Medical Education & Neuroscience Institute. “Tonight, we are celebrating new beginnings, promotions, retirements and those recognized for exemplary service and heroism,” Fayetteville Fire Chief Kevin Dove said in a news release. “For whatever the recognition, we owe every person being recognized our gratitude.” It also was a poignant night for FFD veteran Everett Hockenberry, who pinned his daughter, Emily Hockenberry, during the graduation ceremony for 46 new city firefighters.
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You’ll find some proud firefighters at the Cumberland Road Fire Department these days, and a beaming fire chief, too. “This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our firefighters, leadership and community partners who work every day to protect lives and property,” Chief Steven Parrish says in a news release about the department, which has been awarded a Class 1 Public Protection Classification rating from the Insurance Service Office. “Reaching Class 1 reflects years of training, planning and investment in public safety. Most importantly, it shows our citizens that they can count on world-class fire protection.” The certificate, according to the release, is the first for a Cumberland County fire department. The honor was presented on Oct. 15 by North Carolina Fire Marshal Brian Taylor. The Cumberland Road Fire District serves approximately 9,000 residents across five square miles to include single-family homes, multi-family units, manufactured housing communities, businesses, daycares, churches and a major manufacturing facility. It’s a big deal and says much about Chief Parrish and his firefighters.
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“Bill, what a wonderful job of covering the celebration at Massey Hill High School,” former Fayetteville resident Neill Buie writes in an email about my Oct. 29 column on the Massey Hill High School 100th Anniversary Celebration, which was held Oct. 25 at Massey Hill Classical High School on Southern Avenue. “Your article was very poignant describing Tony’s [Chavonne] keynote address. I remember playing ball with and against some of those mentioned, and I am fortunate to call many of those from ‘the Hill’ friends.”
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“Bill, a great article written about Massey Hill High School,” Sandy Hurley writes in an email. “I loved what Tony had to say. So many of these people I know, although I did not grow up there.”
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“Bill, thank you so much for lifting up the story of Massey Hill High School,” Kennon Jackson writes in an email. “Your thoughtful reflection helps put perspective on the high schools in Cumberland County today, where these same types of bonds, memories and friendships are made every day.”
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“Great keystrokes in making the MHHS reunion become live to those of us who were not in attendance,” retired U.S. Army Four-Star Gen. Dan K. McNeill writes in an email about the 100th celebration of Massey Hill High School. I’ll have to confess. It was a delightful story to write about the school’s history.
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Jean Hermann was a grand lady of elegance who leaves her fingerprints on the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, the Fayetteville Botanical Gardens, the Arts Council of Fayetteville Cumberland County, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, the Cumberland County Council on Older Adults, the Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross, her beloved St. John’s Episcopal Church, and not to forget the fourth-graders she once taught at Holbrook Elementary School on Fort Bragg. She enjoyed a round of golf and bridge with friends and good conversation around the dinner table with a glass of wine. And Jean Hermann was a face of courage as she dealt with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Jean Cunningham Rice Hermann was 92 when she died Oct. 8 at Valley Hospice House.
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Ted Lepper was that happy-go-lucky fellow with boyish looks who always lifted others up along his life’s way with a concern for others and their well-being. Ted E. Lepper died at age 64 on Oct. 15, and many of us will miss his uplifting ways.
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The Rick Herrema Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Helen Jones Melvin Education Endowment of the Cumberland Community Foundation, according to a news release. The funding will support children of military families through the Rick Herrema Foundation partnership with Cape Fear Regional Theatre to help children build confidence and creative teamwork through the arts.
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Those little ghosts and goblins will be out tonight and knocking at our doors in search of Halloween treats in neighborhoods throughout the city and county. It’s a rite of childhood and youth, and if you are driving the streets of the neighborhoods, be aware of our little ghosts and goblins.
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“All the education and outreach won’t have a positive impact without people who make a conscious decision to never get behind the wheel if they’ve been drinking or using other impairing substances,” Secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation Daniel Johnson says in a news release about the “Halloween Booze It & Lose It” highway enforcement campaign, which is underway from Oct. 27-Nov. 2. Johnson said it right at a recent news conference held at the Safety City exhibit at the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh. “Had people simply made a decision not to drink and drive, we would have no reason to hold press conferences like this one.”
Coming Sunday: A final word on the race for the city gavel.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
We’re nearing our fourth year of CityView Today, and so many of you have been with us from day one in our efforts to bring the news of the city, county, community and Cape Fear region each day. We’re here with a purpose — to deliver the news that matters to you.
