It’s back to the drawing board for the proposed downtown Crown Event Center after the county recently learned that construction costs leaped from $131.7 million to $163.5 million. Now, with elimination of a third-floor terrace and 15,000 square feet among other amenities, according to a project design architect, the cost is $145 million, with a delayed completion date of 2027. “This is still an impressive building,” Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe says in a news release. “I’m not really seeing anything that takes away from the customer experience, and I like that we were able to keep the same capacity, which helps keep ticket prices down.” And Glenn Adams, the commissioners’ board chairman, says he believes the project is moving in the right direction. Some of us regret no third-floor terrace. Here’s the bottom line: stop jerking us around and build this center.
***
Strategic planning and goal setting for the city will be the order of business when Mayor Mitch Colvin, Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Keefe Jensen and Fayetteville City Council members Malik Davis, Mario Benavente, D.J. Haire, Lynne Bissette Greene, Derrick Thompson, Brenda McNair, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and Deno Hondros gather at 9 a.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Dorothy Gilmore Therapeutic Recreation Center at 1600 Purdue Drive. We can see the recreation center from our executive news offices on Breezewood Avenue, and you can be assured we’ll be watching.
***
Downtown Raleigh is beefing up its police presence in an effort to deter crime, according to a WTVD Channel 11 report, and that might be something for our City Council and Police Department to consider, too.
***
If anyone ever deserved The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, it’s Toney Coleman, the retired director of Fayetteville Regional Airport. He worked at the airport for 30 years, including since 2020 as its director. Coleman grew up the last of 15 children born to the Rev. James A. and Annie B. Coleman in Forsyth County. He came from humble beginnings, working as a dishwasher at the Holiday Inn in Winston-Salem before graduating from Winston-Salem State University and receiving his master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his doctorate from Northcentral University and earned an Army commission as a second lieutenant. Our local airport is better today because of Toney Coleman, who knew how to treat people with kindness and respect. Coleman received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine on Monday night from state Sen. Val Applewhite on behalf of Gov. Roy Cooper.
***
***
Cumberland County Schools is mourning the passing of one of the school system’s grand educators. “We are saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Tryon Lancaster.” Schools Superintendent Marvin Connelly Jr. says in a news release. “He was a highly respected educational leader who served Cumberland County Schools for more than 30 years. Throughout his distinguished career in the district, he fulfilled roles ranging from a dedicated teacher to an accomplished principal, supervisor and associate superintendent. The long-time educator left an indelible mark on the lives of countless students, educators and families whom he proudly served.” Tryon Lancaster will be remembered for putting students and teachers first in his distinguished career. He later worked with the School of Education and Office of Church Affairs at Methodist University and also served as pastor at Wesley Heights United Methodist Church and Saint Matthews United Methodist Church. A service is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Haymount United Methodist Church, with the family receiving friends from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the church Commons Room. The Rev. Tryon Delano Lancaster was 89 when he died Jan. 23.
***
“Loved the David Barkman article,” Carol Quigg writes in an email about our Jan. 24 column on Dr. David Barkman, the longtime veterinarian at Highland Animal Hospital. “He was an exceptional man. I did several Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch mornings with him. He was the happiest cook I have ever seen.” David Barkman was, as you say, Mrs. Quigg, an exceptional man, who cared about his fellowman, and not to forget the thousands upon thousands of animals in his care. If everyone cared, as David Barkman did, the world would be a better place. Dr. David Lyle Barkman was 76 when he died Jan. 16.
***
“Bill, I loved your article about Dr. Barkman,” Sandy Hurley writes in an email about the late Fayetteville veterinarian. “Your gift of writing is for all of us to enjoy. I knew Dave for almost 50 years. What a guy! Always pleasant and giving and living the life of the hands and feet of Jesus. Thank you for always sharing your gift of writing.”
***
“Bill, great article on Billy Wiggs,” Jimmy Townsend writes in a note about our Jan. 13 column on the retired Fayetteville dentist, who died at age 94 on Jan. 5. “You have a talent to be able to put the essence of a person on paper in a few words.”
***
Sadie Simpson Williams was known as “the first lady” with a sweet spirit and a beautiful smile, and with a love for husband Bishop Perry Williams. Mrs. Williams was 76 when she died Jan. 13.
***
Steven Smith, Worth Smith, Cynthia Celeste and Susan Groveunder with the Smith Wealth Management Group of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management on Ravenhill Drive have been recognized on the 2024 Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams” list, and it is a deserving honor. I should know. They’ve been handling my financial investments for going on four years, and I would be lost without them.
***
Type O negative blood supply is at a critical shortage at the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center. “As fast as the donor center is collecting blood, our hospitals are using it for transfusions,” Amy Fisher, the center manager, says in a news release from Cape Fear Valley Health. “Not only is there a local shortage, there’s a national shortage, which means we can’t even buy blood from another state.” Type O- is the universal blood type that can be transfused to any patient, according to the release. Type O- is necessary for trauma patients when there is no time to type their blood and critical for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit newborns. The shortage is affecting all health system hospitals in Cumberland, Bladen, Harnett and Hoke counties. “We urge healthy volunteers with any type blood to please give to help our patients in this special way,” Fisher says. “If you don’t know your blood type, no problem. All blood types are still needed, we’re just at critical levels of type O-.” You can donate from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday at the Spring Lake campus of Fayetteville Technical Community College or from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Wellness Care – Cliffdale Christian, 6427 Cliffdale Road; from 2:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Beaver Dam Volunteer Fire Department, 11042 N.C. Highway 210 South, Roseboro; from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Fayetteville Heart Center, 2301 Robeson St; or from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Blood Donor Center, at 3357 Village Drive, in the Bordeaux Shopping Center. The center is open the third Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to noon. Call 615-LIFE (5433) to learn more about how you can give.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
To keep CityView Today going and to grow our impact even more, we're asking you, our committed readers, to consider becoming a member. Click here to join.
