City Hall Soil Problem Being Fixed
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Jobs The talk Columbus Jobs Foundation New WHS coach hears about Project Black, gets first chance to other prospects. fire up his new team. uuSEE PAGE 8A uuSEE PAGE 1B The News Reporter Published since 1890 every Monday and Thursday for the County of Columbus and her people. WWW.NRCOLUMBUS.COM Thursday, April 26, 2018 75 CENTS Delco timber exporting firm will triple in size By Allen Turner indirectly employs another 80 are then loaded into land-sea mary function is to transport U.S., he was their natural and economic development [email protected] people, such as truck drivers truck containers and taken to shipping containers to ports choice to lead the new opera- department headed by Gary and other subcontractors, and a port. and ocean tion here as chief operations Lanier as he was organizing An Australian-owned tim- he hopes to see the number The compa- Malec Brothers plans to freighters. officer. the move from Wilmington ber shipping company that of company employees and ny headquar- Harris He moved to Wilmington to Delco. has been operating in Colum- subcontractors dramatically ters, located replicate the success of started with in September and started the The firm moves 200 to 250 bus County since January increase in the next half year. about an hour its operation in Australia the compa- company’s U.S. location but shipping containers a week to hopes to triple its local opera- “I think we’ll be able to do out of Mel- ny 10 years says it quickly became appar- the port at Wilmington. Those tions over the next six months, that,” he said, “because we’re bourne, Aus- here. It will expand in ago, initially ent they would need to grow containers are loaded with members of the Columbus replicating a business model tralia, employs Columbus County and working as a the facility. He found their cur- yellow pine for export to Asia, Jobs Foundation were told that has worked well in Aus- 120 staff and receptionist rent location at 1408 Cronly primarily China and India, for Monday at their annual spring tralia and we see no reason it utilizes anoth- add more employees. The answering Rd. in Delco and moved the use in construction projects. meeting at The Spillway out- can’t work well here.” er 200 person- Australian facility employs telephones, operation on Jan. 31. “Soon af- Although 250 containers a side Whiteville. Malec takes timbers and nel through but the busi- ter I started looking, it became week sounds impressive, Har- James Harris, chief operat- fumigates them for transport subcontrac- 120 full-time workers. ness owners quite apparent that Columbus ris says, “That’s not where we ing officer of Malec Brothers overseas. Fumigation is re- tors. The pri- recognized County was the place for us to need to be. In Australia, we are Transportation Group in Del- quired by a number of coun- vately held, family-owned his potential and promoted be,” he says. moving 500 to 600 containers a co, said the company current- tries to make sure the wood firm has been in business in him to general manager. When He received a lot of support week, and I envision us doing ly has 16 direct employees and is disease free. The timbers Australia since 1997. Its pri- they decided to expand to the from the county’s planning uuSEE TRIPLE 5A YMCA hopes to open pools City Hall to public, offer swim lessons soil problem By Diana Matthews [email protected] Columbus County resi- being fixed dents may soon have access to at least two public swimming By Jefferson Weaver sufficient soil tests where the pools for social and recre- [email protected] old house was,” Currie said, ational activities, said Lauren “and that dirt just won’t com- Cole, chair of the Columbus Much of the soil on the pact properly.” County YMCA Steering Com- Whiteville municipal build- Combined with that prob- mittee. ing site had to be removed and lem, Currie said, was the com- “They will be open to ev- replaced this week. plication that some of the dirt eryone,” said Cole. “This will City Manager Darren Cur- brought in to fill the footprint be a huge step.” rie briefed council Tuesday on of the former City Hall was The committee voted Mon- the problem, which has been below standards. All that dirt day “to pursue opportunities remedied at no additional cost. has since been excavated and for the YMCA of Southeast- The city voted last year to is being replaced, Currie said. ern North Carolina to lease demolish the mold-ridden 1938 “Most of the dirt that filled and manage pools in the municipal building and erect in the basement was fine,” county. They will be open to a new structure at the corner Currie said. “It’s just that the the public at an affordable of Columbus and Madison soil under the old parking lot price,” Cole said. streets. The new building will and where the house was had The pools are in Fair Bluff include both the original City to be replaced.” and at the Columbus Golf and Hall lot and the lot created Councilman Tim Blackmon Fitness Club, formerly White- when the city purchased and asked if the fill problem was ville Country Club. tore down a rundown rental built in to the City Hall con- Swimming lessons, long property next door. struction budget. Currie said lacking for the general public The property next door was that the architect and engineer in Columbus County, will be a the problem, Currie explained. had intentionally made sure focus of the program. “Apparently there weren’t uuSEE CITY HALL 2A Two years ago, then Co- lumbus Regional CEO Carla Hollis along with YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina Paper will be CEO Dick Jones established the Columbus County YMCA steering committee. Cole, a retired early childhood in- published on structor and vice president of academics at Southeastern Community College, joined a Tuesdays, Fridays committee of county leaders eager to bring YMCA services to Columbus County. Among “about 20” com- starting next week mittee members, said Cole, were county, city and town By Les High days. The paper will not have to go to Charlotte and back; it will officials, plus representatives Staff photo by Grant Merritt Editor be given to postal carriers or from both school systems, the Lauren Cole, chair of the Columbus County YMCA Steering Committee, stands be- health department and hos- Today marks the last Thurs- placed in post office boxes. The pital, the community college, side the Columbus Golf and Fitness Club pool, one of two pools that will be operated day edition of The News Re- time of day you get your mail parks and recreation depart- for the public by the YMCA of Southeastern North Carolina. porter. Beginning next week, now is when you’ll get home ments, the Cooperative Exten- the paper will be published on delivery of your News Reporter. sion office and community Columbus County residents as a social and recreational other water-oriented activi- Tuesdays and Fridays. Publishing on Tuesdays non-profit groups. participated in record-making opportunity for families, at an ties.” While it’s easy to wax nostal- will also afford us to upgrade Jones was also on the com- numbers. Responses showed affordable price.” Cole had compared notes gic about the Monday/Thurs- the paper over what was typi- mittee. “He’s been guiding us that, “Everybody overwhelm- The plan is to offer both with Les High, a member of day cycle that’s been the stan- cally a weaker Monday edition. through the process of char- ingly wanted social and recre- single-day admission and full- the steering committee, chair- dard since the 1930s, the change Publishing first thing Monday tering a YMCA in the county,” ational activities for families season passes. The committee man of the Columbus Jobs has been a long time coming and morning always presented a Cole said. and children,” said Cole. will seek sponsors to provide Foundation and a volunteer will improve content. challenge to the staff and for A needs assessment survey economic resources to keep with Whiteville Rescue Unit Now, everyone will get The getting news that occurred over in 2016 asked county residents Swim classes the price affordable. who is concerned about the News Reporter on the same day the weekend. what programs they would “We have lots of water At first, “We’ll target kin- number of adults who can’t no matter where they live in In most instances when like to see offered by a county here,” Cole said. “We want to dergarten through second swim because they never had the county. newspapers announce changes, YMCA affiliate. address water safety and swim- grade,” Cole said. Later, les- the opportunity to take swim- The press crew will print the it means less content. For our Compared to similar fact- ming instruction. After people sons will be available for all ming lessons. paper on Monday and Thursday readers, it will mean more. finding surveys carried out learn to swim, we really want ages through adult level, “with evenings, when it will be taken There will be extra features by various YMCA chapters, to provide access to swimming potentially water aerobics and uuSEE POOLS 5A to local post offices for delivery in the Tuesday paper, and we first thing on Tuesdays and Fri- uuSEE CHANGE 11A Volume 127, Number 85 Dianne and Bobby Rouse having lunch with Jimmy Buffett in Stuart, Fla. last week? Dianne appar- Whiteville, North Carolina DIDYOB ently is enjoying her recent retirement from Herald Office Supplies.