Sam Smiley: From patrols to purpose
DEPUTY SAM Smiley stood at the front of the fifth-grade classroom, feeling the weight of expectant eyes. As he asked the students to name responsibilities at home or school, some answered eagerly,...
Anita Ashworth: Honoring Lincoln County’s fallen
ANITA ASHWORTH pulled open the door to the Warrior Exhibit. Outside, traffic circled the square, everyday life in motion — its freedom preserved by those remembered within these walls. Time slowed...
Slawburger Festival: A recipe for joy
THE SLAWBURGER Festival is an annual event that brings the community together in celebration of the town’s signature dish: the mustard-based, slaw-topped burger. First introduced in 2015, the...
Tiffany and Liam Calvert: Community in motion
TIFFANY AND Liam Calvert are the owners of Magic Athletics. They have been anchored in the community for years and began their business at the old cotton mill. It was a space they quickly outgrew...
Fabulous Fifties Show: 38 years of giving back
THE FABULOUS Fifties Show completed its 38th season in March with nine performances held at Lincoln Central Academy in Fayetteville. The show blends nostalgic entertainment with local impact,...
Letter From the Editor
A FAMILY LOADS up their navy blue Jeep in Tennessee and takes a cross-country road trip. It’ll take several days to get to the Sequoia National Park in California. There may be hours when the Jeep...
Blake Copple: A vision for service
A LINE OF children shifts forward, the faint shuffle of feet echoing in the school hallway. Blake Copple steadies the vision screening device inside a room nearby, preparing for the next student....
Maggie English: Ready for her moment
THE COUNTDOWN echoed through Maggie English’s headset. Five. She adjusted her grip on the camera, her fingers steady despite the adrenaline rush. Four. The production truck crackled with final...
Susan Beck: Ensuring that Laura Grace Beck continues to touch lives
THE ROOM was all too familiar: chairs that pulled out for sleeping, fold-up cots, and vinyl-covered couches piled with last night’s pillows. In the corner, half-open suitcases and overnight bags...
Gary Damron, Barbara Damron Stovall, Anna Damron, and Brenda Damron Hutto: Stewards of a family’s soil
WHILE THE fields no longer stretch unbroken to the horizon, what remains is rooted deep. The land carries the weight of generations — hands that cleared the first fields, feet that walked familiar...
Letter From the Editor
WHEN YOU choose a locally owned business over a national chain, you’re not just spending your money, you’re planting it. And the roots of that investment reach deep. Every dollar counts, and it...
Rob Barnett: One box, countless blessings
LIKE THE sky overhead, most of Fayetteville is still asleep when Rob Barnett arrives at Elk River Trading Company on a cold December Saturday morning. Today isn’t about sales — it’s about giving...
Gay Dempsey: Banking on community
ON CHRISTMAS Eve in 1960, Charles Gleghorn stepped behind the teller’s counter at Lincoln County Bank for the first time. He slid open a heavy wooden cash drawer, its metal dividers clinking against...
Dan Holt: Small-town grocer, big-time impact
HOLT’S IGA may bear Dan Holt’s name, but this hometown grocer’s greatest success is carried on the shoulders of his team. Holt never set out to own a grocery store. In October 2016, he bought a...
Mike and Jeff Bradford: Fixing what big stores can’t
FROM THE corner of your eye, Mt. Washmore looms — laundry stalled by a dead washing machine. The big box store’s helpline? Forty-five minutes on hold, promising you’re “next.” It hasn’t always been...
Chad Mullins: Building on a firm foundation
TRAFFIC CRAWLED along Lincoln Avenue, a backhoe leading the way, soon joined by a Fayetteville Police Department car’s flashing blue lights. The officer eased the machine over, clearing the way for...
Stan Golden: A legacy of leadership
SPEND A few minutes with former educator and school superintendent Stan Golden, and you’ll leave with an impression of his heart for the students and community he served. A sense of humor and...
Allie Groce & Hannah Howell: Beyond the barre
BEYOND THE front door of Backstage Performing Arts (BPA) are studios with mirrored walls, barres, balance beams, and music punctuated with instructors’ directions. Little ones tippy-toe twirl while...
Peggy Eddins Wright: 60 years of teaching joy
IN A Highland Rim School classroom, Peggy Eddins Wright moves with purpose, her eyes as bright and enthusiastic as the young students she guides. She is sounding out letters in a reading lesson....
Margaret Campbell: Mapping success for every student
MAPS TELL stories of possibility. Not the kind printed on paper but the invisible routes we chart through life’s most challenging terrains. Some journeys are straightforward highways; others are...
Julie Miller: Stitching a community of care
AS YOU wait in the car rider lane for your student to emerge from one of Lincoln County’s schools, it’s hard to see. The double doors burst open, and students pour out, run-walking to their rides,...
Letter From the Editor
A STUDENT IN our community today will walk the halls of Congress with a pinned American flag on their chest. A student in our community today will pray their knees still hold when their nerves get...
Bridgette Jones: Transforming lives through education
LOOKING AT the answers on the worksheet before her, Bridgette Jones leaned in to make eye contact with the young student she tutored. It wasn't just the correct answers that brought them both joy;...
Makayla Martin: Dreams Set Free
ON THE beach of Playa Junquillal, Costa Rica, Makayla Martin gently releases baby sea turtles one by one onto the beach. The tiny creatures, no larger than the palm of her hand, instinctively...
Charlie Sullivan: Piloting a Spirit of Empathy
BILL SMITH broke the surface of Tims Ford Lake, his uncle, Bobby Smith, in one numb hand, and his 3-year-old son, Jess, clutched desperately in the other. The 48-degree water bit into their skin...
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