POST Voice The Pender-Topsail
Finding fun in art A Hampstead business is bringing fun to creating art for all age groups and levels of artistic talent. Read about Hot Mess Studios on page 1C.
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Pender in the playoffs The Pender Patriots are the lone county football team still playing this week in the first round of the state playoffs. Read about it on 1B.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Volume 44, No.7
50 Cents
The Media of Record for the People of Pender County
Harrell-Luther judge race still undecided
Honoring our veterans
Provisional and absentee ballots still to be counted; decision by Friday afternoon By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The District 5 judges race between Burgaw attor ney Kent Harrell and Assistant District Attor ney Lindsey Luther remains undecided, with Harrell ahead by only 17 votes. Pender County Board of Elections Director Dennis Boyles says a winner should be announced by Friday after noon. That is when all the provisional and absentee ballots from Pender and New Hanover County will be counted. The race is still very much up in the air, with 150 provisional ballots in Pender County and more than 500 in New Hanover to be examined. Boyles says not all provisional ballots will be valid, but a number of them will be and they will determine the outcome of the election. Pender County election officials will meet Friday at 10 a.m. to examine the remaining ballots and certify the election. “We will meet Friday morning and start working on the provisional ballots and begin finalizing the election at 11 a.m.,” Boyles said. “New Hanover will begin working on provisionals Thursday because they have so many.” Boyles said the general election in Pender County went smoothly, with no problems with equipment.
Kent Harrell
Lindsey Luther “That is why we test everything before the election to make sure it works. I like a nice smooth election,” said Boyles. Pender County had slightly more than 44 percent of voters turn out for the Nov. 4 election. Boyles says with the provisional and absentee ballots, that number could approach 46 percent. Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew
Computer virus attacks Burgaw financial software By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher A computer virus that attacks financial software and locks the infor mation hit Burgaw’s accounting system recently. Town officials were able to isolate the virus and access the town’s financial records.
The virus locks the information and demands a ransom be paid to obtain the code to unlock the system. “Eric Harvey does our IT work and he thinks we are in the clear. We don’t anticipate any more issues related to the virus,” said Burgaw town
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The American Legion Post 167 color guard leads the procession to open the Veterans Day program at the Hampstead gazebo. Hampstead resident U.S. Marine Corps Col. Sean Salene (right) was the speaker at the program. See more photos of the event on Facebook.
School Board moves ahead with bond plans By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The Pender County Board of Education took the ini-
Staff photo by Edith Batson
Scouts, along with their leaders, parents, and local residents attended the Daughters of the American Revolution Veterans Day program at the Burgaw Cemetery Tuesday.
tial steps to put the newly-approved school bond to work by approving the search for an architectural firm to handle renovations and new construction in the bond proposal. The board will post notices in local newspapers and online to receive bids on the architectural work. The request for qualifications is a formal advertisement that will lead to firms applying for the job. The board will then review firms that apply to seek the most qualified bidder. “We will ask for their expertise and performance in school projects,” said Pender County schools Director for Auxiliary Services David Smith. “We will ask about staffing, the proximity to the area, what kind of experience they have in southeast North Carolina, and information about stainability. When we build a building today, we need to know it is going to last
more than 70 years. We will also ask for prototypes, about their expertise, their past performance in these types of projects, and a list of all the K-12 projects that they have completed in the last seven years in North Carolina.” Applications will be received through Dec. 1 before the board begins the review process. Smith said there is a lot of interest in the Pender County projects. “My phone started ringing last Wednesday morning,” Smith said. Mobile classrooms The board approved the purchase of two mobile classrooms for the Topsail Middle School. The classrooms will cost $59,500 plus and additional $10,800 in set-up costs. The new mobile units will help relieve overcrowding in the school, which has resulted in some unusual measures to find classroom space. “We had to convert the
weight room in the gym into a classroom because we needed the space,” Smith said. Smith said the classrooms were recently used by Camp Lejeune and were in extremely good condition. The company that offered the units also had several more. Board member Kenneth Lanier said they should consider buying more since they were available at a good price and the schools were going to need them. “Do we have money for that?” Lanier asked. “Not unless you appropriate it,” Smith answered. The board did not act on Lanier’s suggestion. School systems receives good audit report The Pender County school district received a good report from the system’s auditing agency. The auditor told the board there were no problems with the audit and commended the district’s staff for good bookkeeping work.
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