YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1978 w w w. j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
WeeKly edition
FEB. 26 - MAR. 4, 2025 Vol 47 No 9 | 1 Section | 8 Pages
Fire districts may receive drastic cut in county budget funding by carol brooKs FREELANCE WRITER cab1hp@gmail.com Due to a possible miscalculation, Guilford County fire districts are expected to receive $2.3 million less in the 2025-26 proposed budget than expected. These fire departments are already struggling financially. The budgeting error means some departments will be unable to purchase new equipment, offer training, building upgrades and other items. Fire engines alone cost around $1 million each. Larger departments should feel the effect more than smaller ones.
Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire District’s three-year accumulated loss in revenue will be $1,096,968. PSFD Fire Chief Derek Carson provided insight to the problem. “Each year, the fire districts in Guilford County build our annual budgets based on the revenue estimates that Guilford County provides to us. PSFD receive funding through [several] tax revenue sources: property (based on fire tax), motor vehicle, sales (based on ad valorem distribution), and prior year residuals (revenue collected in the prior year above the adopted budget). Once these budget figures are adopted, we rely on that
comPiled by norma b. dennis fIRST THURSDAY HISToRY PRoGRAM The Jamestown Public Library will host another in its series of First Thursday History Programs March 6 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held on the main floor of the library. James Lutzweiler, local historian, will discuss two seemingly unrelated topics: A Primary Cause of the American Civil War, Looking Beyond Slavery and The Yellow Rose of Texas, Who Was She — and Was She a Tar Heel? Lutzweiler, a 1997 graduate of North Carolina State University, wrote his masters thesis on the Yellow Rose of Texas. He had planned to write a dissertation on the primary cause of the American Civil War, but was distracted by the Yellow Rose and did not return to the Civil War topic until a decade later. The community is invited to attend the free program. Two pamphlets about the topics will be available at a cost of $3 for both. Have an event that you think needs to be included in About Town? Email Norma B. Dennis at ndworddesign@gmail.com or Carol Brooks at cab1hp@gmail.com
revenue in order to maintain our overall operations for that fiscal year. “In fiscal year 2024, PSFD received $183,079 less than what was approved as a part of our adopted budget. In fiscal year 2025, we are expecting to receive $261,184 less than budgeted. This is a two-year total loss in revenue of $444,363. This is our portion of the $2.3 million amount that is being discussed. “To compound this problem are the budget estimates we are being provided for fiscal year 2026. Our revenue estimates we received from Guilford County in January for fiscal year 2026
are $652,705 less than our adopted budget for fiscal year 2025. This brings a three-year accumulated loss in revenue for PSFD to $1,096,968. Carson has been told the loss in revenue for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years was from an error in how the Motor Vehicle Tax Revenue was being calculated. “Due to various reasons, it finally ‘showed itself’ in FY24,” he said. It is believed the funding model for expenses and revenue is outdated, partly because the departments now have to pay full-time employees where, in the past, many volunteer fire-
fighters were used. “Our budget, just like other fire districts throughout Guilford County, is operated on a very tight margin,” Carson added. “With the loss in budgeted revenue, either that revenue has to be made up, or something is forced to be reduced. Making a cut requires that essential resources or capital planning doesn’t get funded.” Carson has contacted County Commissioners and hopes the county can work with the fire districts to make up for the revenue shortfall. “Our firefighters are committed to protecting our citi-
zens and our communities and will continue to do so moving forward,” he said. There are several possible scenarios for this shortfall: Guilford County could use some fund balance savings to mitigate the loss, but this fund is already low. Another option is some departments will have to forego purchases. But what would hit Guilford County residents most is fire district taxes could go up. There is no solution at this time. County Commissioners met Feb. 18 for further discussion. The 202526 budget will go into effect July 1.
Town Council approves stormwater contract
by carol brooKs FREELANCE WRITER cab1hp@gmail.com
The Jamestown Town Council had no new business to attend to during their Feb. 18 meeting. Additionally, two agenda items were removed. The first elimination was from the consent agenda requesting approval of the Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (DDE) Policy. The second item, under Old Business, was a request of approval of the Shared Use Agreement Between Guilford County Board of Education and the Town of Jamestown, regarding use of the athletic fields at Jamestown Elementary School. Replacing the previous agenda item under Old Business was approval of a contact with McAdams for design work for the storm drainage system improvements project in Forestdale East. Certain portions of O’Neill Drive, Royal Road and Wiltshire Drive are affected. These areas flood during
significant rainfall and contain aging and/or undersized infrastructure, according to the contract. McAdams’ proposed fee for the services is $89,950. The project will be funded through the Golden LEAF Foundation Mitigation Program. Jamestown was awarded the funding in June 2024. Grant funds of $769,000 and $242,700 from the Water Sewer fund have been allocated to complete the project. The grant funds are provided on a reimbursement basis. This Forestdale East Stormwater Project grant project will be set up as a multiyear fund. The Council unanimously approved the contract. In other business, Robert Coon was reappointed to serve as a Planning Board member representing the extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Will Grant was appointed to serve as a Parks and Recreation Committee member. Several residents were Photo courtesy LaTonya Bowman appointed to serve as the first ruby sapp leach, left, stands with councilmember Pam burgess after receiving council recognition for her extensee council, PAGE 2 sive ancestry research.
asheboro’s wastewater still high in 1,4-dioxane Connecting pancakes and dirty faces comPiled by norma b. dennis FREELANCE WRITER ndworddesign@gmail.com Lutheran Church of Our Father, 3304 Groometown Road, Greensboro, will celebrate Shrove Tuesday with a pancake supper on March 4 from 5:307 p.m. Although not scriptural in the sense of relating to a specific Biblical passage, it is spiritual in that it connects to the frequent scriptural theme of fasting — giving up something to help focus on God. (Shrove means an awareness of one’s sins and desire to change.) Ancient spiritual practices included using the 40 days before Easter to focus more directly on scriptural study,
prayer and acts of mercy. That time is known as Lent from the lengthening of days. The fasting could be anything, such as using the time planned to binge a television show to read scripture or help at a food pantry. Or it could be eating at home rather than going out and then donating the savings. This tradition of a quiet, focused time leading into Easter generated another tradition of partying before all that started. That is how Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday in French, began. Eating pancakes came about because many traditions fasted from or avoided household fats during Lent and pancakes are a good way to use up fats. The day after Shrove Tuesday, the see PancaKes, PAGE 2
Extremely high levels of 1,4-dioxane was found in the City of Asheboro’s wastewater discharge in January, according to the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. This chemical is identified as a cancer-causing carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends 22 parts per billion (ppb) of 1,4-dioxane. Asheboro testing was done Jan. 24 of this year and revealed 2,200 ppb. Asheboro’s own testing revealed 3,520 ppb. These figures are up to 10,000 times above the recommended number. Dubbed a “forever” chemical, it breaks down slowly and poses long-term health risks. It can enter water supplies of the wastewater in several ways, one being the chemical is not properly treated at a treatment plant. While this discharge does not affect Guilford County’s
drinking water, The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Division of Water Resources (DWR) notified downstream utilities along the Cape Fear River Basin. So far, there have been no bad reports from water treatment plants downstream. DEQ is also monitoring wastewater plants in Greensboro, High Point, Burlington and Reidsville where some progress has been made to reduce contamination. “DEQ continues to sample at municipal wastewater treatment plants and in surface waters across the Cape Fear River Basin to identify 1,4-dioxane sources,” Laura Oleniacz, DWR public information officer, said in an email to the Coastal Review. “In addition, DEQ continues to assist municipalities to minimize or reduce 1,4-dioxane coming from industrial wastewater. DEQ is also exploring other avenues for protecting drinking water.”
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by carol brooKs FREELANCE WRITER cab1hp@gmail.com
The Jamestown News reported the problem in January prior to Asheboro’s latest wastewater discharge test. NCDEQ had submitted a permit request for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) on Oct. 7 of last year. After an initial review, the Environmental Protection Agency objected to the permit later in the month. As a consequence of the high levels of 1,4-dioxane, the EPA is calling for tougher state action to limit the chemical. The DEQ had 90 days to comply with a revised permit request, otherwise the EPA would step in. The Clean Water Act states, “the concentration of toxic substances, either alone or in combination with other wastes, in surface waters shall not render waters injurious to aquatic life or wildlife, recreational activities, or public health, nor shall it impair the waters for any designated uses.”