Post & Voice 1.18.18

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The Pender-Topsail

Blacksmithing Classes at Poplar Grove Read about it on 1B.

In This Edition... • Ever have a hankering to swing a hammer and smack some read hot iron? Poplar Grove has blacksmithing classes. Read more about it on page 1B.

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• School is back in session and grapplers across Pender County are back on the mat. Read more in Sports on page 7A.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

The Media of Record for the People of Pender County

Volume 48, No.15

50 Cents

Candidates for sheriff continue to increase Republicans now number seven, no Democrats yet

The number of candidates vying for the job of sheriff of Pender County has risen to seven – and that’s just on the Republican side. Sheriff ’s Deputy Jimmie Stokes is the latest candidate to join the Republican field for sheriff. Larry Brown also announced his candidacy recently. Announced Republican candidates include Randy Burton, Joseph Cina, Jason Spivey, Chester Ward, Alan Cutler, Larry Brown, and Jimmie Stokes. No Democratic candidates for sheriff have announced as of press time this week. Larry Brown According to his campaign release, Brown brings 38 years of public relations and 28 years of administrative experience to the table. Brown also serves part-time as a Pender County Sheriff ’s Deputy, first coming to the department under Sheriff Mike Harvell in 1995. “I want to be a working, accessible sheriff for the people of Pender County,� Brown said.� Brown says it is important to retain good deputies in the department and not lose them to neighboring counties. “Money is an issue. We train deputies and then they leave. It costs a lot to train a deputy only to have them leave,� said Brown. “The retention of good, qualified personnel is important to me.� Brown says he wants to be careful with tax money in the Sheriff ’s Department. “We don’t have an unlimited amount of money. I want to make sure the department is run just as efficiently as possible because our money comes from the taxpayers,� said Brown. Brown is the brother of Pender County Commission Chairman George Brown. Jimmie Stokes Jimmie Stokes is a native of southeastern North Carolina, having lived in Pender County since 1996. After working as a certified electrician, Jimmie entered law enforcement in 2011. He currently serves as the School Resource Officer (SRO) at Pender High School. “It is with great pride that I have decided to run for Sheriff of Pender County. After much prayer, consulting

with family and friends, and consideration for the people of Pender County, I believe it is time to pursue the best avenue to positively impact our society. As a current deputy in Pender, I will continue to build upon the relationships that I establish each and every day.� Stokes says he will work to find new ways to create positive relationship between the

Larry Brown

Jimmie Stokes

Volunteers rebuild historic flooded church

Currie congregation celebrates By Lorie Kirkpatrick Post & Voice Staff Writer

volunteers, and friends celebrated its rising from the destruction of Hurricane Matthew. Hurricane Matthew drove the Restoration to the church has waters of the Black River out and been a labor of love, led by the across western Pender County in Cape Fear Network of Baptist October, 2016. Churches, North Carolina BapAlong Hwy. 53 near the Pender- tist Men and Women, and other Bladen county line, the historic groups working together to rePush Mowers • Lawn Tractors • Zero Turn Mowers Bethlehem Baptist Church was in build. Wrightsville Beach Senior Trimmers & Chainsaws the path of the flood. Church and Pastor John McIntyre and his community members scrambled church were involved in the entire to save what they could as water process. reached several feet inside the “We had to gut the building. building before finally subsid- We started right after the flood, ing. and we finished it about two The flood left behind a dam- weeks before Christmas. We are aged building and a devastated just trying to get them back into congregation. FEMA officials it to worship there. Everybody estimated the building was 90 who has worked on it in any way Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Currie community, celebrated rededication percent destroyed. was invited to attend the dedicaof their renovated building Jan. 13. Flood waters (above top) surround the But a church is much more tion,â€? said McIntyre. “About 100 church during Hurricane Matthew. Many volunteers (above right) worked to than a building – it is a group people have worked on it over rebuild the church. Rev. John McIntyre (above), pastor of Wrightsville Beach of people who join together to the past year and a half, and we Baptist Church, speaks during the rededication service. McIntyre and the worship. Sunday Jan. 14 was a Wrightsville Church headed the effort to rebuild Bethlehem Church. Continued on page 8A day of joy has the church family,

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Pender County Hamptead Government Annex at 7 p.m. Candidates who face challengers from their own party on the primary election ballot are invited to participate in the forum. The official filing period for the Nov. 6 general election begins Feb. 12 and runs through the end of the month. The primary election in North Carolina is Tuesday May 8.

Through the flood

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Sheriff ’s Department and the community, “working together with various agencies to eliminate the opiate crisis that plagues our neighborhoods, and creating a safe and welcoming society.� Jimmie and his wife, Bevin, are active members of Shiloh Baptist Church. The Pender-Topsail Post & Voice will sponsor a Candidates Forum April 5 at the

By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher

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