Post & Voice 6.11.14

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POST Voice The Pender-Topsail

Atkinson Farmers’ Market The Black River Farmers’ Market is now open in Atkinson twice monthly with local produce. Read about the new market on page 3A.

Volume 43, No. 37

&

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Topsail wins title! The Topsail Pirates swept the state championship series last weekend over Monroe Piedmont. Read about it in sports on page 1B.

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The Media of Record for the People of Pender County

School officials will meet with commissioners to discuss school bond

Barbecue festival and fun

By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The Pender County Board of Education will meet with county commissioners June 12 to outline the school board’s proposal for a bond referendum this fall. The school board plan to meet the growth needs includes a renovation of the Penderlea School, which will become a K-5 school, a new middle and elementary school in the Surf City area, and a major expansion at Cape Fear Elementary and Middle schools. The proposal has the historic Penderlea School building renovated and an addition added to the facility, The school will no longer have middle school students and will become an elementary school. Middle school students in the district will be divided between West Pender Middle and Burgaw Middle. The existing Penderlea School building does not have enough space to meet state requirements, so an addition

will be built. Both Burgaw Middle and West Pender Middle will see renovations. “There will be some upfits to those schools to make sure those facilities can compete with those at Cape Fear and Topsail,” said school board member Tom Roper. The new school proposed for the Surf City area will be a facility similar to Cape Fear with both the elementary and middle school on the same campus. Cape Fear will see major additions to both the elementary and middle schools to accommodate growth in the district. “We had designed the Cape Fear school to accommodate this kind of growth,” Roper said. “We made sure the common areas could adapt to the growth. That is where the expense is, in the cafeteria and library. Right now we are looking at primarily a large classroom expansion.” A report presented to the school board projects high

Continued on page 9A

County eyes new jail property Location near Burgaw prision unit By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew

The first Cape Fear Barbecue Festival at Old River Farms in Burgaw drew a number of competitors in the cooking competition as well as those who love good barbecue. Those attending the festival found more than just food, as many vendors offered their wares. Visitors were able to take a ride on a camel as well. See more photos of the event on Page 12A, 13B and on Facebook.

Suspects arrested in Rocky Point

Armed robbery at Burgaw Credit Union From Staff Reports The North Carolina State Employees Credit Union in Burgaw was robbed by an armed gunman Friday morning. The gunman entered the Credit Union armed with a rifle and demanded money and fled the scene. According the Burgaw Police Major Lisa Fields, Jordan Laif Carroll, 20, of 249 Kimwood Lane Lot 10 Rocky Point, was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with the crime. After an investigation, Car-

roll was located in Rocky Point by Pender County Sheriff ’s deputies and arrested without incident. Carroll is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, possession of stolen goods, assault by pointing a gun, and entry of a premise wearing a hood/mask/disguise. He is jailed under $191,500 secured bond. Also arrested and charged in the case is Alysha Harts Carroll, 24, of 20 Bielenda Dr. Castle Hayne. She is charged

Jordan Laif Carroll

Alysha Harts Carroll

Pender County officials are looking at property adjacent to the N.C. Department of Corrections facility in Burgaw as a potential site for the county’s proposed new jail and law enforcement center. The property, which is owned by the NCDOC, is just north of the prison. “We have been in touch with the state and it looks very promising right now,” said Pender County Manager Dr. Mickey Duvall. “We are still trying to work out some of the details, but we are making progress. We’ve had a tough time finding property. It’s one of those not in my backyard situations. Jails are almost like landfills these days. Here the backyard is a state prison so hopefully there won’t be a problem.” Duvall said the county is proposing a long-term lease on the property, similar to Orange

County’s deal with the state for jail property. Leasing the property instead of purchasing a site would save the county money in project costs – from $500,000 up to $1 million. But Duvall says the site near the prison would require extensive foundation support for a jail structure due to the type of soil, which could use up any money saved. “ I f yo u b u i l d a r o u n d Burgaw, you are looking at some hefty foundational support systems for this type of project. I’m thinking the extra costs could be about $300,000 to $500,000 extra to build out there,” Duvall said. Burgaw Town Manager Chad McEwen says the site is outside the current Burgaw city limits. “We have met with them in regard to land use issues and any infrastructure issues and there does not appear to be any issues between the county and the town that we can’t overcome,” McEwen.

with robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, and possession of stolen goods. She is jailed under $180,000 secured bond.

No tax hike for Surf City in budget By Don Paxton Post & Voice Staff Writer Surf City residents can breathe easy as the town council approved the 2014-2015 budget that keeps the taxes at the same rate as the previous year’s budget. The 41 cents per $1,000 tax rate represents 15 cents for the Storm Damage Reduction/

Beach Nourishment fund and 26 cents for the town’s General Operations Fund. Also at the June 3 meeting the board approved the final plat for the Poplar Branch community located off of Mill Creek Road on the mainland. The 35-lot subdivision is for single-family homes and consists of lots between 8,040 and 14,131 square feet.

During the meeting’s public forum, residents voiced concern regard water issues. “I have concerns regarding the water quality letter that we recently received. I don’t think that the public is being properly notified about the contaminants in the public water,” said Surf City resident

Continued on page 2A

Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew

Police cars block the parking lot at the State Employees Credit Union in Burgaw following an armed robbery Friday morning.

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