History comes alive The Moores Creek National Battlefield will bring history to life this Saturday. Read about the park’s First Saturday Living History program on page 8A.
Volume 44, No.1
Board to discuss manager candidates
POST Voice The Pender-Topsail
&
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Maybe a road win All three Pender County football teams will be on the road this week against teams each has a chance to beat. Read about it in sports beginning on page 1B.
Spot Festival - a fish fry at heart
Special meeting called for Oct. 3
Health Dept. begins flu campaign By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The first of October marks the beginning of the flu season and the Pender County Department of Health has its annual flu-fighting campaign ready to go.
Continued on page 2A
Candidates forum October 16
Open invitation to all candidates to participate
The Pender-Topsail Post & Voice, along with the Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Hampstead Civic Association will sponsor a candidates forum Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at Topsail High School. All candidates on the November ballot are invited to participate. Candidates are asked to arrive at 6:30 p.m. to sign up for the forum.
Old Topsail School work is nearly complete Hampstead annex moves in Oct. 20
By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The Pender County Board of Commissioners have called a special meeting for Oct. 3 to review candidates for the county manager’s position. A notification issued Monday said the emergency meeting will be at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 and will be a closed session. With financial problems brought on by the previous manager and finance director, Chairman David Williams says the board is taking its time to find the right candidate for the manager’s job. “We have a very capable interim manager and it’s a luxury not to feel rushed. We are trying to be very methodical and not rush and make a wrong decision,” Williams said. The board hopes to narrow the search down to three to four candidates and begin interviews soon. “I’ve gotten feedback from the commissioners and they are pleased with the candidates we have to consider. We will ask each one to give his top picks and hopefully we will have a lot of overlap,” Williams said.
50 Cents
The Media of Record for the People of Pender County
By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher
Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew
Topsail High School student volunteers (above) at the Spot Festival load plates with fresh cooked spots, french fries, and hush puppies. The line of customers waiting for the tasty dinners stayed long all during the festival. Local singing duo Bub and Morgan White (right) entertained the crowd Saturday. See more photos of the festival on Facebook.
Celebration and open house Oct. 18
Atkinson Fire Department turns 50 By Lori Kirkpatrick Contributing Writer The Atkinson Volunteer Fire Department will hold its 50th anniversary celebration and open house Oct. 18. The firefighters, donned in their dress uniforms, will dedicate their recently constructed memorial. The memorial was built in remembrance and honor of former members of the fire department. Granite bricks will be sold on the day of the event to honor those members. The open house will include fire demonstrations, tours of the trucks, and an AirLink helicopter from New Hanover Regional Medical Center. The Forestry Service and Emergency Management will be on site with exhibitions. Pender EMS will have an ambulance on site, and there will be displays from the local Woodmen of the World and from Moore’s Creek National Battlefield. Visitors will also be able to practice using a fire extinguisher. The fire prevention mobile unit will be there, and Pink Hill Fire Department will be in attendance with the pink fire truck. The Highway Patrol and Pender County Health Department will have displays, and flu shots will be available. There will be a dunking booth, a coloring contest for kids, and a variety of games. The Pender County Sheriff ’s Department will offer fingerprinting for children. A historical display of pictures, articles and other memorabilia can be seen. Free hot dogs, popcorn and drinks will be provided. “The community has given to us for 50 years. This celebration is our chance to give back to them,” said Jason Turner, Deputy Fire Chief of the Atkinson VFD. The Atkinson Fire Department begin in 1964 when a group of local gentlemen saw a need for a local fire department and initiated a petition that was signed on 1965. The local Ruritan Club donated $400 to get it off the ground. The fire department bought its first truck the same year, after some setbacks and negotiating. When the men went to buy the truck they had chosen, it had already been sold. There was another more expensive one, and they were allowed to obtain it with the money they had on hand until they could get to the bank. The 20 charter members, along with others in the community, constructed the original building around 1966 for about $6,000. In 1994, an addition was added, doubling the size of the original structure.
Herbert Pate, one of the charter members and the first Atkinson VFD chief, said he is proud of the firemen who have kept it going. “They have carried it a long way and I am proud of the work they have done. At the time the fire department was chartered, everybody got behind it. The way it pulled the town together was unbelievable. That was one of the biggest blessings that came from it – the way it brought everyone together.” The department still has an auxiliary, which started in 1970. It consists of women in the community, including many whose husbands serve as firefighters. The auxiliary helps by holding fundraisers to support the fire department. The fire department started out with a budget of $400, and has a budget of $187, 000 today. Currently, there are two trucks being purchased on a 20-year loan. Turner said so far they have always been able to pay back the expenses of the vehicles before the payment term was up. They recently held their barbecue chicken fundraiser. The event is held twice a year. The recent one was a huge success, selling 823 plates in about two hours. The Atkinson department serves the second largest fire district in Pender County. The area stretches from U.S. Hwy. 421 to the Sampson County line, to Currie, and about two miles
Continued on page 9A
Employees at the Hampstead Pender County government annex are packing up for a move south on U.S. 17. Annex operations will move from the current location into the renovated Topsail Consolidated School on Oct. 20. Wo rk wh i c h b e g a n i n March of this year on the old school will be complete this month, in time for annex operations to move in by the expiration of the lease at the current location Oct. 30. Commissioners began discussing what to do with the old building in January 2013 and ordered a feasibility study to examine the possibility of renovating the structure into a facility for county use. Pender County Utilities Director Michael Mack was tasked with the study of the old school, which was built in 1924. Two other schools of similar design were built about the same time in Pender County – the old Long Creek school and the Atkinson school. The Long Creek school has been demolished, and the Atkinson school is now privately owned. “In January 2013 I presented a renovation assessment and feasibility study to the Board of Commissioners. I gave them the history of the building. It appeared structurally sound, and we had asbestos issues,” Mack said. “In April 2013 we hired the architect. After drawing the plans and bidding, we launched the contract for renovation in March, 2014.” Mack says renovation work is nearly complete, with just trim work remaining. “We have two more weeks on the building contract and staff will be in the building and start business Oct. 20,” Mack said. “We will transfer everything between Friday Oct. 17 and Monday Oct. 20. We are planning to close the current annex at 2 p.m Oct. 17 to allow the phone and network services to be moved. Our goal was to get the building finished before our lease at the current annex ran out. Our contractor has done an amazing job, especially in light of the very tight schedule.” A formal rededication of the old school is tentatively planned for Nov. 14. “We are calling it a rededication of the building as the Hampstead annex. It was originally dedicated as the Topsail Consolidated School in 1925,” Mack said.
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