Dillon Heath works with customers at the Headquarters Branch of the Cumberland County Public Library. (David Kennard/Greater Fayetteville Business Journal) 

Library grant to provide online access throughout community

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

Cumberland County Commissioners accepted a State Library of North Carolina (SLNC) grant in the amount of $95,846 that will be used to pay for two digital navigators at the Cumberland County Public Library.

Faith Phillips, the Cumberland County Public Library director, said the one full-time and one part-time position represents the next phase in a series of moves she hopes will provide community access to an ever growing digital world.

“At the library we’ve had a number of customers who need help with these types of items — and of course we help them, always — but oftentimes the library staff member is on the desk helping other people,” Phillips said.

The two digital navigator positions will provide the needed help both in the public library, but also throughout the community wherever digital access is needed.

“Navigators will go into the community and help people who cannot come to the library,” Phillips said. “Navigators will be able to instill in community members the skills and confidence needed to be successful in the digital sphere so they can have truly equitable access.”

The grant, which is part of the $1.6 million SLNC Adapts Library Services and Technology Act, is one of 45 grants doled out by the state library. The state library grants were made possible by funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, Public Law 117-2 (ARPA).

According to information provided by the SLNC, the money was earmarked to “support local library projects that target high-need communities to address digital inclusion, expand digital network access, purchase internet-accessible devices, provide related technical support in response to the coronavirus, and support community needs.”

Locally, the two new positions will be used to connect “the last mile digital inclusion and navigation at the Cumberland County Public Library,” according to the commissioners’ agenda item.

Phillips said the grant will pay for the two new positions for one budget cycle, but she said she hopes to include the positions in the next fiscal year’s budget, planning of which begins in September.

Regarding boots-on-the-ground applications, the grant includes funding for 15 laptop computers that will be used at planned outreach events throughout the community.

Ideally, Phillips said she hopes to partner with local businesses to provide access in visible areas such as business parking lots, schools, community centers, public spaces, even laundromats or other places where people naturally gather.

According to Phillips, the recent acquisition of mobile hotspots represented the first phase of the library’s digital access plan. The library’s new navigators will provide the needed help for library customers searching an array of information such as seeking job information, resume coaching or even help with launching a business.

Looking forward, Phillips said she hopes to apply the “Bookmobile” model to remote internet access — which would include a mobile bus-like vehicle that can be set up on school campuses, veteran service centers or job fairs throughout the county.

“This is crucial in ensuring equal access to the digital world,” Phillips said. “While providing access to technology like hotspots and computers as well as the internet. It’s crucial for our community, but that access means nothing if a community member does not know how to access the digital ecosystem.”

Editor’s Notes: Climate change or not, it’s hot out there

By David Kennard
Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

Anyone who has spent time outside during the summer understands that it can get hot, really hot — which is good for business for sellers of sunscreen, sunglasses, sandals and sun hats.

As the high heat of August continues to cook our part of the world, entrepreneurs are dreaming up ideas on how to make a buck from climate change.

David Kennard

We had a chance last week to visit with Karen Goble, director of continuing medical education for Southern Regional, Area Health Education Centers.

You can find Scott Nunn’s story on page 3 of this edition of the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal.

According to Karen Goble, director of continuing medical education for Southern Regional, Area Health Education Centers, our region “already experiences health and community challenges posed by increasing heat and storms.”

“We have the highest incidence of heat-related illness in North Carolina,” Goble told us. “Health care workers, employee health staff, and all in the region need to consider how we adapt, such as providing counseling for persons taking commonly prescribed medications that increase risk for heat related illness.”

Stick with me for a minute; this is not another news piece promoting the idea of global warming. That said, we are experiencing a trend that seems to support the idea of climate change, at least in the short term. 

And regardless of your stance on the subject, Goble and others are focusing on the practicality of increased numbers of people showing up in hospitals and doctors offices with health issues related to the heat.

In Nunn’s story, you’ll find information about the Sandhills Climate and Health Symposium 2021. There Goble will speak on the subject of health concerns related to climate factors.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has stolen the spotlight in the last year, but it’s not the only health threat out there — hurricanes, for instance, continue to plague the Southeast year after year.

Health experts, government leaders and even regular folks like me and you usually have time to prepare for the destructive forces of these big storms.

But, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention our region “is especially vulnerable to extreme heat and wildfires. However certain populations, such as farmworkers and diabetics, face a high risk of spending too much time in the sun — which .

According to Nunn’s story, the subject of heat effects on the human body will be addressed at the Sandhills Climate and Health Symposium 2021, set for Aug. 13 at the Southern Regional Area Health Education Center (SR-AHEC), 1601 Owen Drive, Fayetteville.

Years ago, I spent a couple of summers running the aquatics program at a Boy Scout camp in southern Colorado. For five weeks in a row I’d wake up everyday, shave and apply zinc oxide (white stuff) to my nose. 

On my staff of lifeguards and sailing instructors was a young man named Randy, who had a girlfriend named Kim back home. Each day as the lakefront staff began their daily tasks, Randy would get one of the guys to reapply a thick coating of zinc oxide to his back, spelling out the name, “Kim” — you know, so when he took his shirt off he’d have a sun tattoo spelling out his girl’s name.

Time passed, and not too surprisingly, Randy and Kim went their separate ways, leaving Randy with a large sun tattoo of this young woman’s name still on his back. The day after the breakup Randy said he had come up with a solution. For the last couple of weeks Randy skipped the zinc oxide application and let Kim burn.

So, climate change or not, Kim or not, we feel the heat of summer every year. And anyone who spends any amount of time working outdoors understands the power of the sun’s heat. That and other climate-related issues is what the upcoming symposium will address.

“It will be important to consider preventative measures for those working outdoors — such as in construction or farmworkers — and engaged in outdoor sports activities,” Goble said.

The takeaway from the symposium is that our region and others must prepare for the rising number of people with conditions caused by environmental hazards.

David Kennard is the executive editor of the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal. Contact him at 910-240-9697, Ext. 104.

Cumberland County has sold the Cedar Creek Business Park, according to an announcement today. (File photo)

Cumberland County seals deal with SkyREM on Cedar Creek Business Center

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

SkyREM LLC has closed on the purchase of Cumberland County’s Cedar Creek Industrial Park, which includes about 360 acres in Fayetteville.

The $3,559,600 deal represents a major milestone for Cumberland County, with 100 percent of the park in private-sector hands, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation (FCDEC).

“When our county invested in this park, the goal was to attract private-sector investment and create jobs for our citizens,” said County Commission Chairman Charles Evans. “Considering the company’s aggressive construction timeline, our community is well-positioned to compete for and win transformative economic development projects.” 

Tuesday’s sale was the “first of two proposed acquisitions by the company,” according to a prepared statement from FCDEC.

Earlier this year, Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved the sale of a 159-acre tract in the Cumberland Industrial Center. As a condition of the sale, SkyREM agreed to construct a new industrial product within three years of purchase, with the potential for upwards of 1.6 million square feet of Class A industrial space, adding much needed inventory. 

With an industrial vacancy rate of 5.1 percent, the demand for available, quality industrial space is higher than it has been at any time in the last 15 years according to data from CoStar Analytics, 2021. 

SkyREM, a privately funded real estate company with offices in Philadelphia and New York City, “is actively acquiring throughout the East Coast,” according to information made available to the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal.

The sale marks the “third significant investment” in Cumberland County, according to the FCDEC. Other acquisitions include property off 107 Tom Starling Road. (927,000 square feet) in 2018 and 880 Technology Drive (182,000 square feet) earlier this year. 

“SkyREM is excited to invest further in the Cumberland County market,” said Alex Dembitzer, SkyREM founder. “We currently own and manage approximately 1.2 million square feet in Fayetteville and look forward to rapidly developing multiple state-of-the-art, best-in-class manufacturing, distribution and logistics facilities.”

Tuesday’s acquired property is located in the much desired land with easy access to Interstate 95, which, according to the company, puts 80 percent of the country’s population within one day or less.

Marketing to manufacturing and light industrial companies, SkyREM pointed to Cumberland County and Fayetteville as ideal locations. Tuesday’s announcement included language touting benefits that included existing “road and utility infrastructure,” and the ability for “creating multiple ready-to-build sites within minutes of I-95.” Additionally, Tuesday’s statement pointed to a new Campbell’s Soup Distribution Center located within the Cedar Creek Industrial Park. 

“We would like to thank Robert Van Geons, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, and the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation for giving SkyREM the opportunity to further invest in the Fayetteville market and look forward to working alongside the local government bringing new businesses, and more importantly, new jobs to the area,” Dembitzer said.

Likewise, Van Geons offered praise to Cumberland County officials.

“We would like to congratulate the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on the completion of this sale, which would not have been possible without the dedicated work of County Attorney Rick Moorefield and County Manager Amy Cannon,” Van Geons said. “We are grateful to the City of Fayetteville for supporting utility extensions and our marketing efforts, as well as the North Carolina Department of Transportation and South River Electric Membership Corporation who provided funding for road and electrical improvements. This is an exciting project for Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and we look forward to our continued collaboration with SkyREM.”

Fayetteville Technical Community College has filled its current courses training CDL drivers, a trend seen regionally and across the country. (Photo published with permission from FTCC)

Demand for truck drivers fosters creative responses

By David Kennard

Truck drivers are in short supply according to sources keeping an eye on the commercial transportation industry.

Fleet Advantage, with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, released information Thursday, showing that the trucking industry nationwide is anticipating a shortage of 100,000 drivers by 2023.

That’s a number that will no doubt impact buyers and sellers alike — especially with the holiday shopping season approaching.

Cumberland County and its host of distribution centers may feel the impact more than most areas, but the region is certainly not alone in its concern over the kink in the American supply chain.

According to a CNN report on Thursday, “US ports, railroads, trucks, delivery services, warehouses and the many people who run them — is overwhelmed.”

Of course, the silver lining, if there is one, is that demand for consumer goods is an indicator of a recovering economy. Walking the line between supply and demand is business as usual for manufacturers, but the common thread between sellers and buyers often includes the transportation factor.

While qualified drivers are in short supply, educators and transportation industry officials are working on the solution.

Locally, Fayetteville Technical Community College’s trucking program is full to capacity. The college has a steady demand for training thanks to its relationship with Fort Bragg. 

“Transitioning service members do enroll in our CDL program,” said Catherine Pritchard, from the school’s Office of Marketing & Public Relations. “We are also a registered CSP (Career Skills Program) through SFL Tap (Soldier for Life – Transition Assistance Program) at Fort Bragg.”

The industry has also seen a push for non-traditional employees — women as drivers and the plethora of other jobs in the supply chain.

“Facing a decades-old struggle to retain drivers—and a pandemic that’s cranked up demand for shipping—fleets long staffed by mostly male drivers are now looking to get more women behind the wheel,” according to a prepared statement from Fleet Advantage. “With the trucking industry anticipating a shortage…recruitment efforts directed at women are becoming increasingly common.”. 

That’s a trend FTCC is seeing as well. 

“There are 12 people in [the] class, all male at this time, but we've had women come through,” Pritchard said.

Around the country, other creative options are playing out as well.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, Centerline Drivers, a recruiting firm in Burbank, Calif., specializes in placing truck drivers in high demand areas, even if it means flying them across the country. 

"Our team looked around and found we had drivers available locally and came up with the idea to fly them [to a remote region of the upper Midwest], put them up and have them work until the job was done," said Shane Keller, Centerline's managing director of recruitment. "The drivers were dedicated to that company, and for six weeks moved the products the company needed to move."

A large airtanker makes a water drop on the Summit Trail Fire in Washington. (Photos used with permission from the Colville Agency, BIA National Interagency Fire Center.)

Western states fires spark Air Quality Alert in Fayetteville area — WITH VIDEO

By David Kennard

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

Fires burning in the West have sparked an An Air Quality Alert for residents and businesses that have employees working outside throughout the Greater Fayetteville area.

Local National Weather Service officials issued the alert for Cumberland, Hoke, Sampson and Scotland counties, including the cities of Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Hope Mills, Clinton, Camp Mackall, Laurinburg, Raeford, Wagram and Roseboro.

The alert will remain in effect until midnight Thursday, according to NWS information released Thursday.

According to weather officials, the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources in Raleigh has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for fine particulates. The Code Orange alert means concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.

Workers and residents who are sensitive to poor air quality — especially those with heart or lung disease, such as asthma — are encouraged to limit prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. In a statement released to local media on Thursday, Environmental Resources officials said children, active people and older adults should also limit time spent outdoors.

“Wildfires continue to burn actively across 13 states where 78 large fires and complexes have burned 1,346,736 acres,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the National Interagency Fire Center. “More than 20,700 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents. New large fires [on Wednesday] were reported in California, Montana and Wyoming.”