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Site dedication May 6
The Pender-Topsail
The Greater Currie Community Action group will hold a site dedication for their new community center May 6. Read about the group’s work on page 1B.
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Two weeks to go With two weeks to go in the spring sports regular season, county high school teams are positioning themselves for the playoffs. Read more on page 8A.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Volume 47, No. 29
50 Cents The Media of Record for the People of Pender County More than 450 acres, largest solar array in Pender County
Spring fun at Old River Farms
Commissioners approve solar farm in Currie
By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Pender County Commissioners approved a Special Use Permit for a solar farm in the Currie area at their April 18 meeting. The SUP was approved by unanimous vote. The 75 megawatt facility will be located long private Courtney Road near the intersection of N.C. Hwy. 11 on a 481-acre tract of land. The developers are currently seeking an easement for access to the property from Watha Road. The solar farm will contain rows of solar panels set on posts in the ground. The solar arrays will be fixed in place facing south in order to receive the maximum amount of solar energy. The power generated
Staff photos by Andy and Katie Pettigrew
The bouncy house was a big hit with the children during the annual Spring Festival at Old River Farms in Burgaw. Hattie B. Farrior (above) is all smiles enjoying the fun. The strawberry fields were open for picking Saturday as many festival goers left with buckets of the ripe fruit. See more photos from the event on page 4B.
MST in a Day needs Pender hikers From Staff Reports Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail announced today it is recruiting hundreds of North Carolinians to collaborate Sept. 9 to hike the entire 1,175 miles of the MST in one day. The MST in a Day event will commemorate a speech Sept. 9, 1977 by Howard Lee, then N.C. Secretary of Natural Resources and Community Development. He told a National Trails Symposium in Waynesville that North Carolina should create a “state trail from the mountains to the coast, leading through communities as well as natural areas.” That speech was the catalyst for a trail that now stretches through 36 counties from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks, including a section of the trail in Pender County. Almost 700 miles are built and people use connecting back roads to hike across the entire state. There is also a paddling option along the Neuse River in eastern North Carolina. The average hike for MST in a Day participants will be three to five miles. To register for hiking a leg of the trail go to mstinaday.org. Lee was one of the first to sign up for MST in Day. He will hike at Jones Lake State Park in Bladen County with Tom
from the solar farm will be sold to Duke Energy Progress for use by consumers to replace energy produced from a non-renewable source. The proposed solar farm in Currie will be one of several existing farms in Pender County, but when built, will be the largest at more than 450 acres. A public meeting on the project was held Mar. 23 at the Willard Community Center to gather public input on the project. Phillip Martin, Regional Zoning and Outreach Manager for Cypress Creek Renewables, conducted the community meeting and told commissioners it was a positive interaction with the com-
Continued on page 3A
Topsail Beach lawsuit dismissed, way opened for building on south end From Staff Reports Superior Court Judge Kent Harrell dismissed a lawsuit against Topsail Beach and lifted a temporary restraining order issued shortly after the town board repealed its longstanding dune protection ordinance. Dismissing the lawsuit and the restraining order, which prohibited the town from is-
suing building permits on a group of oceanfront lots at the south end of Topsail Island, opens the way for property owners to build. Storms during the 80s and 90s prevented building on the lots, but after years of work to restore the dunes, beach renourishment, and natural
Continued on page 2A
Sub-tropical storm brings heavy rain, flooding in Pender County Earnhardt, host of WUNC-TV’s Exploring North Carolina. Asheville resident Jennifer Pharr Davis, a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, will be hiking the trail starting in August and will be summiting Mount Mitchell Sept. 9. “This event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for North Carolina families, friends and outdoor enthusiasts to unite behind helping the MST reach its full potential as one of the world’s great trails,” said Lee. The MST is a linear state park that showcases North Carolina’s extraordinary and diverse landscape. More than 70 people have hiked the entire route, which normally takes two to three months. Each year tens of thousands of others choose the MST for day hikes or overnight excursions. The MST has helped
From Staff Reports Flash flood warnings were With the start of the 2017 issued Sunday for Pender hurricane season more than County and across the region a month away, a sub-tropical as the low pressure system spur construction for other trails. coastal low dropped heavy rain dumped heavy rain, sending Friends of MST is a non-profit orgaon Pender County Monday, creeks out of their banks and nization whose volunteers help build causing minor flooding across water flooding roadways. and maintain the MST. The event is the county. Pender County Emergency part of the Friends 40th anniversary It was much like a tropical Management Director Tom celebrations, which includes a $200,000 storm without the wind – just fund raising campaign. Those funds rain. Continued on page 7A Push Mowers • Lawnthe Tractors • Zero Turn Mowers will be used for bridges and boardwalks, Trimmers & Chainsaws signage, tools and materials. In addition to Pender, counties touched by the MST include: Swain, Jackson, Haywood, Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, Yancey, Mitchell, Burke, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Wilkes, Alleghany, Surry, Stokes, Forsyth, Guilford and Alamance. Also, Orange, Durham, Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Craven, Sampson, Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew Cumberland, Bladen, Onslow, Carteret, This park along the Osgood Canal walking trail flooded Hyde and Dare are part of the trail. Monday with the heavy rain.
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