Post & Voice 12.11.14

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Pender beats Laney The Pender Patriot’s men’s basketball team beat Laney last week on the road. Read winter sports news beginning on page 1B.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Volume 44, No.11

Burgaw has EPA Superfund site

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The Media of Record for the People of Pender County

Topsail Beach, Atkinson Christmas parades

Contaminated soil removed from old plating plant

County law enforcement agencies eye body cams Surf City Police testing body cams since May

By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Bright orange fence and federal Environmental Protection Agency warning signs surround a large hole and pile of soil at the corner of Dickerson and Hayes Street in Burgaw. Workers in protective suits work to remove soil from the site of an old chrome plating plant that contaminated the ground. “The building was tor n down a number of years ago and the site was a monitored contaminated site by the state and the EPA for years. The owner has been required to clean up the site and the federal government has funding to decontaminate the land,” said Burgaw Town Manager Chad McEwen. “They are removing the contaminated soil to a containment facility. There is no threat to the public and there is plenty of monitoring going on. There is no groundwater threat or any wells in the area. There are EPA certified contractors there and it’s a very controlled environment.” McEwen says the building was torn down six to eight years ago and had not been in operation as a plating plant for years prior to that. There are several other sites around Burgaw that are monitored for possible contamination. Old gas stations with underground storage tanks such as the Pender County Jail administrative offices, which used to be a convenience store, are often monitored with wells to detect contamination. The EPA Superfund began in 1980 in response to national hazardous waste sites such as Love Canal in New York and the Valley of the Drums in Kentucky. The fund was reauthorized in 1986 and again in 1994.

County board gives nod to expenditures By Tammy Proctor Post & Voice Staff Writer Pender County commissioners approved expenses and construction projects during the Dec. 1 meeting. Michael Mack, the county utilities director, presented several items that were added to the scope of the Hampstead Annex Building. Mack said the project was estimated to cost $3.5 million for design, engineering, structural and soil evaluations, asbestos and mold abatements,

Continued on page 2A

By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Pender County law enforcement agencies are considering the use of body cameras on officers following the shooting and unrest in Ferguson, Mo. President Barak Obama has proposed $263 million in funding for police body cameras and training in the wake of the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The program, which needs congressional approval, would offer a total of $75 million over three years to match state funding for the

Continued on page 2A

Firefighters rescue man from home

Photo by James Bradshaw

East and west were represented in the holiday celebration as Topsail Beach and Atkinson held their annual Christmas parades last Saturday. Hampstead Cub Scout Pack 270 got in the Christmas spirit as they participated in the Topsail Beach parade. Fog didn’t stop the Atkinson parade (right) as the Grinch brought his version of Christmas cheer to parade goers. Burgaw will hold it’s parade Saturday at 6:30 p.m. See more photos of the parades on page 12A and on Facebook.

By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher

Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew

Rouzer tours Topsail Beach nourishment project By Tammy Proctor Post & Voice Staff Writer Congressman-elect David Rouzer viewed the Topsail Beach nourishment project up close and personal. Local officials gave Rouzer a tour aboard a Norfolk Dredging Company apparatus in Topsail Inlet. “It shimmies from side to side as it sweeps the floor of the inlet,” Rouzer said after inspecting the project Dec. 4. It was his first visit aboard a dredge, he said. “Coastal issues are critically important,” said Rouzer. “This project is common sense and it saves a lot of money.” From the dredge, the sand is vacuumed into a large piping system which is submerged in the inlet. The pipe comes ashore on Topsail Beach’s soundside. It crosses Ocean Boulevard at Drum Street. The pipe goes underground at S. Anderson Boulevard and returns above ground to the beach. The sand is piped onto the beachfront where trucks and dozers move the sand to build up the dunes. “Its common sense,” said Rouzer. “It’s taking sand from the Inlet, which came from the beach, and putting it back where it belongs.” Federal regulations prohibited taking sand from waterways to place on the beach. However, Topsail Beach, working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the local Shoreline Protection group and Topsail Beach’s BIS (Beach, Inlet, Sound) committee led a permitting campaign to seek permission to place sand that has moved from the beach into the inlet. “Getting the permit approved was the hardest part,” said Topsail Beach Mayor Howard Braxton.

“It’s our hope that now we have the permit, all of our coastal communities will use it for beach nourishment,” said Braxton. Commissioner Julian Bone said Topsail Beach has been fiscally conservative and has not increased taxes to accomplish the project. Rouzer said Topsail Beach’s project is a model for other coastal communities. “I believe it’s going to be the precursor for more projects like this to come,” Rouzer

said. “Especially in areas where we can save money by both dredging - where the sand is of the particular quality that it needs to be - you can put it right back on the beach.” “The foresight and planning of this island has made this project possible,” said Chris Millis, state representative, who toured the beach nourishment project with Rouzer. “They are moving the same

Continued on page 2A

Staff photo by Tammy Proctor

Congressman-elect David Rouzer talks with Topsail Beach councilman Julian Bone.

Firefighters from Burgaw and Rocky Point along with Pender County Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Batson rescued a man from a burning house at 1178 New Road Dec. 3. According to Batson, fire crews were dispatched to the home, with Burgaw and Rocky Point departments responding with a report of someone trapped inside the home. Batson arrived first, with Rocky Point and Burgaw arriving minutes later. With heavy smoke showing from the rear of the home, Batson, along with firefighters Robert Pate and Earl Brown from Burgaw and Justin Hinton from Rocky Point, entered the burning home. “Within 15 to 20 seconds inside the home, we located the subject, sitting in a chair in the living room unconscious,” Batson said. “He was picked up and carried outside the house and Pender EMS took over the care of the patient.” Batson says the 46-year-old man regained consciousness and was treated at the scene. The fire started at the rear of the home in the kitchen when a pot was left on the stove with the burner on high. The fire spread from the stove up through the cabinet and into the ceiling. “There were no known working smoke detectors in the home,” Batson said. “Working smoke detectors save lives. Just a few dollars can save a life.” Pender EMS responded to the fire, along with an additional truck from the Long Creek Fire Department.

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