by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney | May 14, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
THUMPER PIGG will tell you up front: “I’m old and hard of hearing.” He says it with a grin — the kind that signals both humor and humility. He was, as he puts it, “raised in a shop with my dad,” and has been “around this sort of thing all my life.” Sawdust, clamps,...
by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney | May 14, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
AFTER TWO decades in Florida education and athletics, a third-generation leader steps into his family’s oil business with gratitude and growth in mind. Small & Small Oil began in 1947, when Phillip Small’s grandfather, Phillip Small Sr., worked for Sinclair as a...
by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney | May 14, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
THE FAYETTEVILLE-LINCOLN County Arts Center rolled out the red carpet once again for its fifth annual Goodwill Ball — and this year the event was bigger, bolder, and more high-energy than ever. Held on Saturday, April 11, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Sacred Stone, the evening...
by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney | Apr 9, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
TOM DEAL began our conversation by talking about his daughter. For years, their family has navigated the long, uncertain road of spinal cord tumors together. They have endured surgeries, setbacks, and the everyday vigilance that comes with living inside medical...
by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney | Apr 9, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
THE WAY Brandi Thompson talks is precise — sharp, detailed, and without fluff. Even while describing a busy life with three children, one of whom had just participated in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day reenactment, she speaks, pauses, and lets the information settle....
by Jeriah Brumfield | Mar 12, 2026 | Fayetteville, Feature
DISASTER RELIEF rarely begins with a plan. More often, it starts with a phone call, a half-packed truck, and the question no one ever asks until it’s too late: What do people need right now? In Lincoln County, that question has driven years of preparation, well before...
