Gentleman farmer After retiring from teaching at Topsail High, Bill White is spending more time with his favorite pastime. Read more on page 1C.
POST Voice The Pender-Topsail
&
Tight conference The Four County Conference has five teams that can beat each other on any given night. Read more in sports on page 1B.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Volume 44, No.19
50 Cents
The Media of Record for the People of Pender County
Burgaw Walmart to open in May
School officials ask for money, get questions
Live fire training
No funds released by commissioners yet for school bond projects By Tammy Proctor Post & Voice Staff Writer
From Staff Reports The Burgaw Walmart will likely open in May, according to the lastest reports. In the weekly report to the town board, the Burgaw building inspection department says the Walmart contractors have experienced “significant delays due to weather.” The completion of the building was originally projected for March. Construction on the retention pond and outside ground work has been hampered by the wet weather this winter. Inside work on the building is progressing. Burgaw officials say the current completion date of the bulding is projected for midApril, with four to six weeks for stocking and preparing the store for opening, which places the opening of the store sometime in May.
Air Force jazz band concert Thursday From Staff Reports The United States Air Force Heritage in Blue Jazz Ensemble will perform Feb. 5 at the Pender County Hampstead Government Annex. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and is free. The event is sponsored by the Pender-Topsail Post & Voice and will be the first event held in the renovated Hampstead annex. The jazz ensemble has a vocalist, and features a variety of jazz, big band, and patriotic music in its program.
Photo courtesy of Pender EMS and Fire
About 50 Pender EMS and Fire firefighters participated in a live burn training exercise Saturday morning in the Pelican Reef subdivision. The home, located on Virginia Creek, was in disrepair and offered by the homeowner to Pender EMS and Fire for the live burn exercise.
Search and Rescue exercise set for Holly Shelter beginning Friday By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Several guys have wandered off and are lost in the Holly Shelter Gamelands – and they need to be found.
That is the scenario that will be played out in the annual Swamp Stomp search and rescue exercise that begins Friday night in the Gamelands. The exercise, sponsored by Pender County Emergency Management and Pender EMS and Fire, will draw participants from across the state to the Gamelands to train for wilderness search and rescue. “This is an annual regional event for search and rescue we sponsor,” said Pender EMS and Fire Deputy Chief Scott Sills. “We will send out a couple of guys who will be missing and different crews will go out and search for them.” Sills says there will be man tracking teams and search dog teams looking for the missing
men, who will walk around the Gamelands and leave tracking clues. “The whole exercise will go until Sunday morning. We will be sending out crews during the entire time,” Sills said. “There will be other scenarios as well, such as clue tracking. The exercise also gives us a chance to test our planning and command system. There are a number of aspects to the training.” Sills says about 35 participants from outside Pender County are expected to attend the exercise, which is advertised statewide. Swamp Stomp has been held in the past off Shaw Highway near the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission station. Sills says the exercise was moved from that location east due to the recent rains.
School officials came to the Pender County Commissioners asking for funds – what they received was a lot of questions from the board. A 45-minute discussion between the county commissioners and Pender County Superintendent Dr. Terri Cobb and David Smith opened the Feb. 2 commissioners meeting. Smith informed the commissioners about architect selections and testing of potential land. Smith said the district hired three of the top five architects in the state. Cobb and Smith requested $1.375 million to get started on the school projects. Commissioner George Brown questioned school officials’ projection that managing the project internally would save $3 million. David Smith will manage all the bond projects. “That seems like a high figure to pay a project manager. He (Smith) works for you. You all don’t work for the taxpayer. You work for the parents, the teachers, and the students. I get that. We have to work for the taxpayer,” said Brown. “I think a project manager is a great idea, someone to assist you in that role. I don’t see where a project manager would cost us $3 million.” Smith said construction management fees typically run from three to five percent of the project cost. “You folks look out for the schools. We look out for the taxpayers. I am looking to see if there is somebody out there to look out for our interest too,” Brown said. “Having you folks doing it, to me, we are at your mercy. When you come to us with something, did you really look out for the taxpayer?” Cobb pointed out she works for the taxpayers as well. “I take that role very seriously. That is why we have had these conversations – what can we do and not let other things suffer,” said Cobb. Commissioner Jimmy Tate pointed out that Smith will be managing eight bond projects at the same time. “I want to make sure the services you currently oversee won’t suffer because you are managing these projects,” Tate said. The county commissioners requested open communications and billing of the projects as the building and renovation projects begin. “We need the bills submitted to the board,” said chairman David Williams. The school request for $1.375 million could not be granted until contracts are released, said Trey Thurman, the county attorney. He said the Local Government Council will not allow the county to sell bonds until a contract is released. Commissioner David Piepmeyer requested plans and information before meetings between the school district and the commissioners. Commissioner Jimmy Tate asked the district to place the presentation online so residents can see the school district’s outline.
Continued on page 3A
County high schools to receive Chromebooks By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The Pender County Board of Education approved the purchase of 1,000 laptop Chromebook computers for the county’s three high schools. According to Chuck Allen, Pender Schools director of technology services, the computers will cost about $320,000.
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Topsail High School will receive 362 computers, Trask will receive 124 and Pender High School will receive 90. School officials say the Chromebooks will help with online testing and the use of online textbooks. The school system used technology reStaff photo by Andy Pettigrew sources during the last school year to purchase Chromebooks A flock of wild turkeys enjoys the sunny weather hunting for food in a field off Little Kelly Road. A large population of wild turkeys calls Pender County home. for the middle schools.
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