Pillage the Village Artists and craftsmen gather in Topsail Beach for the Pillage the Village market. Read about the event on page 3A.
Volume 43, No. 39
POST Voice
The Pender-Topsail
&
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Media of
Summer sports With school out a little more than a week, summer sports leagues are already underway. Read about the action in sports beginning on page 1B.
50 Cents
Record for the People of Pender County
Group wants Penderlea School to remain K-8
Penderlea community rallies to fight changes in school By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher A citizens group in Penderlea wants the Pender County Board of Education to reconsider its decision to change Penderlea School into an elementary school. The board wants to send the middle school students to West Pender and Burgaw Middle schools. A group of more than 50 parents and residents of the community met June 19 at the Penderlea Volunteer Fire Department to express their displeasure with the School Board’s plan and to map out a course of action to fight the proposed changes. Penderlea School parent Patrick Giddeons led the meeting. Pender County Commissioner Jimmy Tate, who represents the district, and School Board member Tom Roper also attended and
spoke to the group. “Our message to the county commissioners is we do not want you to vote on any school bond referendum that adversely affects Penderlea School and our children,” Giddeons said. “We don’t want any version of a school bond that will adversely affect what we have now. If we need new buildings, then let’s move along with that.” The consensus of the group was to keep Penderlea School a kindergarten through eighth grade facility. The majority of the group seemed to agree with the plan to renovate the old building and build a new addition to expand the educational space. How the school facility looks is not the issue – remaining a K-8 school is the concern. “We want Penderlea School to be left as-is. I don’t think anyone is against improvements to the school,” Giddeons
said. “We want the board of education to rescind the vote to split the school and we want the county commissioners to stand behind us.” Roper told the group he favored Penderlea as a K-8 school and would “be your torch-bearer to the school board for that.” Roper outlined construction options for the school, including new buildings and wings on the existing structure, and a complete renovation of the existing classroom building. He urged the group to come to School Board meetings and express their opinions. “We have public comments at every meeting and you need to come,” Roper said. Tate commended the group for coming Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew together to work for their school. Retired principal June Robbins asks questions at last
Continued on page 2A
Thursday’s community meeting at the Penderlea Volunteer Fire Department.
Hot time at the Blueberry Festival
Vietnam vets plan town hall meeting Agent Orange issues prompt concern By Tammy Proctor Post & Voice Staff Writer
coordinator to find the location. After walking another block, the ladies spotted another set of tracks, and these led them to what turned out to be a sizeable loggerhead nest. It contained 165 eggs, which is considerably larger than the average size nest of 120. However, larger nests have been
Tony Maglione of Hampstead urged the Pender County Commissioners and the public to attend a June 28 town hall meeting regarding Agent Orange. Maglione said veterans are not the only victims. Their children and grandchildren are suffering from disabilities and birth defects, Maglione said. “There are hundreds of thousands of us affected,” Maglione told the commissioners. “We must get the word out to everyone.” According to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 885, Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange face higher incidences of cancers, neurological malfunction, respiratory disease. Maglione said the herbicide affects the children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. He said the rate of diabetes, tumors, cancers and birth defects are greater among the children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. Maglione also pointed out that Vietnamese children whose grandparents were exposed to Agent Orange during the conflict are being born with birth defects such as bulging eyes, elongated heads and missing limbs that resemble mutations. He quoted a report from a
Continued on page 9A
Continued on page 2A
Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew
Dancers enjoy the beach music tunes of The Embers during the 11th annual North Carolina Blueberry Festival in Burgaw Saturday. Thousands braved the heat and humidity to enjoy the festival before late afternoon thunder storms moving through the area cut the festival short. Capt. Jack Sparrow (T.J. Tally, right) gives a pirate’s approval of his favorite newspaper, savvy? See more photos of the event on page 12A and on Facebook.
Early morning patrols look for nesting turtle tracks
Volunteers keep watch for turtle nests on Topsail Island By Lori Kirkpatrick Contributing Writer Thursday mornings begin early for Deb Furer and Dorothy Strahley. At 5:30 am, the turtle patrol volunteers are already strolling their allotted mile-long section of Topsail Island in search of sea turtle activity. With 26 miles of coastline, it takes
the concerted effort of many devoted volunteers to survey the area every morning. This challenge is tackled by people like Deb and Dorothy from May through August each year, during sea turtle nesting season. They are looking for turtle tracks, also known as a crawl. On previous days, these volunteers had seen no signs of turtle activity.
However, June 5 was different. The two ladies were excited to find what they thought to be a crawl. They immediately followed protocol and called their coordinator, who directed them to rope off the spot and keep walking. That consisted of placing four stakes around the possible nest area and wrapping orange tape around it, making it easy for the
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