Women’s Expo The ninth annual Women’s Expo is scheduled for this weekend at the Surf City Community Center. Read about the event on page 1C.
Volume 44, No. 24
POST Voice The Pender-Topsail
&
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Spring sports Pender County high school spring sports teams are taking to the fields and tracks across the area. Read more in sports beginning on 1B
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The Media of Record for the People of Pender County
Scams active in Got the hang of the hoop Final county audit Pender County filed with LGC Burgaw Police report By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher
several check scams By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher
Several check scams have been reported in the Burgaw area during the past several weeks. Some involve unsolicited checks arriving in the mail, while another involved a local individual selling merchandise on Ebay. Burgaw Police administrative assistant Gail English says a Burgaw man had listed furniture for sale on Ebay and received a check in the mail for the furniture. But the story doesn’t end there. “After email contact, the buyer wanted the seller to cash the check and send the remainder of the money back to them,” English said. “We assured him it was a scam. The check came from Las Vegas and was a cashier’s check written on a bank in Virginia. It looked very authentic,” English said. Burgaw Police Major Lisa Fields says other check scams have surfaced recently involving individuals receiving unsolicited checks in the mail. The scammers always ask the individual receiving the check to cash it and send a portion of the money back to them. “They will say you have been given money or have won it. These are things that people are not aware of – something you didn’t apply for or a lottery you didn’t play. It looks like a real check. You can keep some of the money, but send some back,” Fields said. “That check will come back as counterfeit and now you owe the money to the bank, but you have already sent some cash back to the scammers.” Fields says people should be on the lookout for unsolicited checks. “People just don’t give away free money. You just don’t get checks in the mail. If you have won something or are getting a refund, they won’t ask for you to send money back – that is a dead giveaway,” Fields said. Residents who receive such checks in the mail should contact local law enforcement agencies.
Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew
Malpass Corner Elementary third-grader Joycelyn Perez keeps the hula-hoop spinning during the school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart Mar.6. See more photos of the event on page 4C and on Facebook.
Pender County Manager Randell Woodruff says a final county audit for fiscal year 2013-14 has been submitted to the Local Government Commission. “Initially we had a draft and they wanted some changes. They wanted us to make and tweek some things,” Woodruff said. “We are very pleased the audit has been finalized.” The final audit will be submitted to County Commissioners at the board’s Mar. 16 meeting. Woodruff says all audits are submitted initially to the LGC as a draft. “There is always something they want changed. That is the way the LGC operates. They are a real asset to all North Carolina governments because they really keep on top of finances.” The LGC approves any debt county and municipal government take on, such as the county school bond and debt for projects such as water and sewer infrastructure. “Before the take on any debt or bonds, we have to get the go-ahead from the LGC,” Woodruff said. Commission Chair man David Williams said the board knew some of the difficulties that showed up on the previous audit were going to be problematic with the current audit as well. “It is a carry over kind of
Randell Woodruff thing. So we are responding to the LGC. It’s considered a draft audit until it’s officially accepted by the LGC,” Williams said. “There will be things in this audit that the LGC won’t like that are carry over from the previous audit. We give them our correction plan and hopefully the next audit should be clear of all the things we did wrong in the past.” Finance director search continues Woodruff says the search for a county finance director continues. “We have some good applicants and we are still moving forward in that process. We hope to have some news on that over the next several weeks,” Woodruff said. Sylvia Blinson continues to serve as the interim finance director for Pender County. “She does a great job. If she would come out of retirement, she could have the job here right now,” Williams said.
Courthouse magnolias come down; some residents upset Officials say tree removal was planned, approved months ago By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Burgaw businessman Johnny Westbrook stood in front of the west side of the Pender County Courthouse Saturday evening, along with Burgaw Mayor Eugene Mulligan. Two freshly-disturbed piles of soil marked where two old magnolia trees once stood. A bundle of old Christmas lights was piled beside an electrical outlet that once provided power for the tree’s holiday lights. “This is a tragedy. It’s a sad day for this town,” Westbrook said. “I can remember looking forward to seeing the Christmas lights turned on the magnolia trees at the Courthouse. Now they are gone.” The magnolia tree removal was approved by the Courthouse Committee. Clerk of Superior Court Robert Kilroy said the trees were in bad shape and a liability to the county. The decision to remove the magnolias – two on the west side of the Courthouse and two on the east – was made months ago. “We had problems with those magnolias. We tried a
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vitamin treatment that was suggested by our agricultural extension agent and it just didn’t work,” Kilroy said. “We went through January and February and finally this was the first Saturday we could get this thing done. I didn’t want anyone dropping trees while we had court in session.” Pender County administrative officer Pat Simmons, a member of the Courthouse Committee, said in an email to county officials the decision to remove the trees was made “due to Vertiaillium wilt, rootrot disease and liability.” Simmons said a professional landscaper, tree expert, and Charlotte Glenn, Horticulture Agent, Pender County Cooperative Extension evaluated the condition of the trees and upon their recommendation grounds keepers attempted to save the magnolias by applying a vitamin supplement but it failed to reverse the condition. It was also discussed and agreed if the vitamin supplement did not work there would be no other alternative but to remove the trees. The committee decided to wait until after the Christmas
holiday to remove the trees and finish the job prior to Spring Fest and the Blueberry Festival. The tree removal and the apparent lack of communication regarding the project caught town and county officials, as well as Burgaw residents off guard. “We didn’t know anything about this. I spoke with County Commissioners David Williams and Fred McCoy and they didn’t know anything about it either,” said Mayor Mulligan. Former Burgaw Mayor Pete Cowan said the plan to remove the trees has been in the works for months. “Nobody wants to see the trees come down. But sometimes it just has to be done. I don’t want to see any county employees thrown under the bus for this. They didn’t do anything wrong,” Cowan said. Pender County Commission Chairman David Williams said county staff should have notified the board and Burgaw officials of the tree removal. “The vice-chairman and I have let the staff know they dropped the ball completely
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A work crew removes two magnolia trees from the west side of the Pender County Courthouse Saturday. and the BOCC was caught flat-footed and embarrassed,” Williams said. Kilroy says he has been wo rk i n g t o i m p rove t h e grounds of the Courthouse
since becoming Clerk of Court. “We just need to get this place cleaned up. We need to get those trees down on the east side. I really don’t appreciate
the town of Burgaw sending a police officer over here to tell the county’s contractor to get off the property while doing a job he had been contracted to do,” Kilroy said.
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