Community first
Edit: There are some distinct differences between the article I wrote and the one published by Up & Coming Weekly. All references to Goldy were added in post-editing. Goldy didn’t know this and assumed I’d launched a full-frontal attack on him when he read the paper Wednesday morning. Which is why he launched an attack […]
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– The Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau produced this amazing Visitors Guide for Hope Mills. FACVB did a tremendous amount of research for the books and paid for them so they didn’t cost the tax payers anything. And they’re really beautifully done. They should be popping up all over town very soon, if they […]
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Up & Coming Weekly has dedicated next week’s issue to the Hope Mills investigation. Jeff Thompson, Earl Vaughan Jr. and I have each written an article to cover the investigation. However, this has become a developing story. Wednesday night James Cauley presented the results of his investigation to the Board of Commissioners. He began by […]
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How much influence does Lisa Waring wield over the Board of Commissioners and specifically, over Commissioner Larson? Once again, a source has provided screen captures from inside Hope Mills Chatter, the private Facebook group owned and operated by Lisa Waring. This conversation took place March 19…six days prior to the special meeting held by the […]
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During the February 18th meeting, the Commissioners spent a great deal of time discussing veteran issues. Again. Specifically Commissioner Mike Mitchell addressed my February 7th article ‘Mitchell launches new attack on veterans’. (Link) MM – “I take exception to this article. Never at any point did I separate any discussion on the veteran committee. I […]
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During the Board of Commissioners meeting on July 23rd, Commissioner Larson accused Mayor Warner of having prior knowledge of Lone Survivor Foundation’s June 4th presentation. Mayor Warner clarified she knew there would be a presentation, but not what the presentation was about. Larson’s continued suspicion spawned a formal investigation. It also spawned Ordinance 2018-9 “Whereas […]
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As a rule I try not to name private citizens. Elected officials are subject to scrutiny but private citizens are not. Likewise, I don’t reference personal issues. But when private citizens use social media to accuse their fellow citizens and respected organizations of serious crimes, they forfeit that privacy. They become the news. Last week […]
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December 17th the board met for a regular meeting. One hour and five minutes into the meeting, Commissioner Larson deviates from protocol and launches a one-sided attack…against me. Larson spent 15 minutes reading from various articles I’d written and posed questions to Adams. Adams, who seemed to know what questions were going to be asked, […]
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During the November 5 board meeting, Commissioner Larson suggested the town re-open the golf course, which has been closed to the public since spring 2014, as walking trails. “It would give the citizens another place to walk during the day other than Municipal Park,” Larson said. Commissioner Larson was among the handful of people who […]
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The November 5 Board meeting began with several proclamations regarding Veteran’s Day. I planned to post both of them here as a tribute to our veterans, but they weren’t included in the agenda. During Public Comments Grilley Mitchell, co-founder of the Hope Mills Citizens for Change (HMCFC) Political Action Committee (PAC), addressed the board. He […]
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During Monday night’s meeting, Commissioner Larson made a presentation: she’s drafted an ordinance which states all five board members must be present for any presentation/request to buy or lease municipal property. No member of the board can discuss the buying or leasing of land unless all five are present. Her ordinance does not include the mayor, […]
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The October 22nd meeting began with a presentation from Jeremy Aagard, the General manager for the Fayetteville Swampdogs. They’re proposing a partnership with Hope Mills wherein they would lease 5 acres of golf course property, plus enough for a parking lot. They want to build a $12-15 million-dollar multi-use facility for recreation. They’re asking […]
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In the twilight hours of October 21, members of Hope Mills Citizens for Change (HMCC) a new Political Action Committee (PAC) distributed signs at intersections and on major roadways. The PAC officially formed within the last few weeks but they’ve wasted no time establishing their agenda: Vote NO to 4-year terms. The 4-year referendum was suggested […]
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“We’re very disappointed with the actions of the board. I made plans to attend the November meeting and was hoping to discuss our offer with them in person. Of all the people I’ve spoken to, only a half dozen indicated they were opposed to this partnership, and three of them were the board members who […]
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Written by: Elizabeth Blevins On November 6 the town of Hope Mills will vote on a referendum which could extend the board’s terms to 4 years. In an effort to better understand what this board has, or hasn’t accomplished, I audited the last 10 months of meetings. I encourage you to read them for […]
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In the Spring of this year Hope Mills Commissioner Mike Mitchell proposed making a drastic change to the town’s charter, suggesting the Commissioners serve 4-year staggered terms instead of the current 2-year terms. After prolonged discussions it was agreed to put the issue on the November ballot and let the citizens of Hope Mills make […]
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Audio clip The clip above is to the 20+ minute interview of Commissioners Meg Larson and Mike Mitchell by Goldy. To make things easier I’m going to use abbreviations for their names. I’m also going to give you time stamps so you can zero in on exact parts of the conversation. 0:48 – Goldy- […]
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Last night’s Commissioner’s meeting was…disappointing. Commissioners Mitchell and Larson were not censured for operating outside the scope of their responsibilities by the remaining Board members. Mitchell never referenced violating staff rights…he didn’t even issue a public apology. He did find a way to mention his business…again But more disappointing than that, was news Commissioner Larson […]
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Late Friday night I was sent a text message with a link. The link was to the minutes of the October 2, 2007 Cumberland County Planing and Inspection Board meeting. Of interest, is item A on the agenda… P07-47: REZONING OF TWO PORTIONS OF A 20.26 ACRE TRACT, CONSISTING OF 9.43 ACRES AND 4.20 ACRES […]
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The public is aware Lone Survivor Foundation made a presentation to the Board on June 4th in a closed session. They’re aware the Board voted on June 18th to reject that offer and end negotiations. Our Board is bound by confidentiality during a closed session, they can’t discuss with the public what was said or […]
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“Mourning is in every household, desolation written in broad characters across the whole face of their country, cities in ashes and fields laid waste, their commerce gone” General Sherman In March of 1865, General Sherman stormed through our small town, burning the mills around which we’d built a community. His intention was to bring […]
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This is from a post on Commissioner Mitchell’s Facebook page this weekend. The email seems to indicate Lake Bed #2 was never part of the properties being assessed by the McAdams Group as potential recreation areas. Commissioner Larson made a motion, during the August 1st Special Meeting, to cancel the Public Hearing scheduled for […]
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There was a flurry of activity on Commissioner Mitchell’s social media this weekend…including this gem. In his post, Mitchell admits to excluding the Board from the decision making process when he was approached by several organizations interested in purchasing property. In lieu of presenting the offers to the Board and letting them consider each […]
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Minutes into last night’s Special Meeting, Commissioner Larson made a motion to cancel the August 20th Public Hearing. The Board voted 4-1 to approve the motion, then disappeared into an hour-long closed session. Terry Jung, Executive Director of Lone Survivor Foundation, took the opportunity to poll the crowd, asking if we wanted him to […]
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During the July 23rd Board meeting, the Commissioners voted to hold a Public Hearing on August 20th at 7pm, to give the public an opportunity to express their opinion about the sale or lease of town property to the Lone Survivor Foundation. The town is obligated to advertise public hearings for 30 days prior to […]
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Commissioner Mike Mitchell posted a very-one sided and misleading diatribe about the Commissioner’s meeting that was held July 23rd. Commissioner Mitchell accused Teddy Warner, Director of Business Development for the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation of soliciting the Lone Survivor Foundation (LSF) to purchase property in Hope Mills. He further claimed the Board […]
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