State Hits Brakes on Election Canvass [email protected]
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FOOTBALL DANCE WHITEVILLE AND SOUTH THIRD ANNUAL COLUMBUS COLUMBUS ADVANCE IN COUNTY DANCE FESTIVAL STATE PLAYOFFS WAS TUESDAY uu SPORTS 1B uu FESTIVAL 10A The News Reporter Published since 1890 every Monday and Thursday for the County of Columbus and her people. WWW.NRCOLUMBUS.COM Monday, November 21, 2016 75 CENTS Impact heavy on FB budget By Allen Turner [email protected] The severe damage to Fair Bluff’s res- idential areas and business district from Hurricane Matthew is still being assessed, but what’s also coming to light is the poten- tial heavy negative fiscal impact on town government. Towns rely on a number of sources of revenue, not the least of which are property taxes. With the business district essentially destroyed and a number of homes uninhab- itable, the valuation of properties will surely fall. In addition to property taxes, municipali- ties also get a percentage of state sales taxes. With business like Fair Bluff Ford and Ellis Meares closed for the foreseeable future, those revenues counted on in the current budget will be lost. uu FAIR BLUFF 9A ‘Alternative Photo by Keith Rogers This bluebird got a bird’s eye view of a deer hunter when he landed on the business end of this deer rifle on a fog-shrouded morning. proposal’ on school agenda By Allen Turner State hits brakes on election canvass [email protected] By Jefferson Weaver Tonight (Monday), the Columbus county [email protected] Board of Commissioners will hear a proposal from a firm that designs, builds, and manages An unknown number of provisional ballots school buildings to be leased by local systems. blamed on the 1995 “Motor Voter” laws, com- The county schools plan to close old bined with multiple protests around the state, schools at Hallsboro, Acme-Delco, Evergreen, have placed the official final vote count on hold Chadbourn, and Tabor City and consolidate until at least next week. them into new facilities at Tabor City, Lake Provisional ballots count the same as regu- Waccamaw and Cerro Gordo. Though there lar ballots, but the information must be verified have been no official estimates, the new and confirmed by elections officials before the schools and improvements at Cerro Gordo ballot can be included in the final accounting. will cost roughly $20 million apiece. “We are awaiting word from the state Robert Ferris, CEO of FirstFloor K-12 board of elections on what to do,” said Jackie Solutions of Raleigh, is on the agenda at the Boseman, Senior Election Specialist with the request of an unnamed county commissioner, Columbus County Board of Elections. according to County Manager Bill Clark. No The local canvass was scheduled for details on what kind of proposal Ferris will be Friday, after the review of provisional ballots presenting were available before the meeting, Thursday. Bozeman said local races were not which begins at 6:30 p.m. affected by the provisional count. Those bal- According to the FirstFloor web site, the lots will be included in the final tally from the firm has been involved in five new energy-pos- county, when it occurs. Staff Photo by Allen Turner itive school facilities in Horry County, at A large crowd showed up at the Columbus County Board of Elections for what turned out to be uu CANVASS 5A a long wait for returns in the municipal elections of November 2015. uu PROPOSAL 2A Julius Coleman is Columbus County’s last soda fountain man Basketball alarm By Clara Cartrette [email protected] triggers VFD Julius Coleman is the last soda jerk in Columbus County, and he’s been on the job for probation notice 39 years at Guiton’s Drugstore in downtown Whiteville. By Jefferson Weaver When he began working at Guiton’s, there [email protected] were drugstores with old-fashioned soda foun- tains all over the place, but one by one, they A demerit that is no longer even part of the stopped serving ice cream, sodas and such. law put Brunswick Fire Department on pro- Now, Guiton’s is the only drugstore in bation from the Office of State Fire Marshall Columbus County with a soda fountain. (OFSM). Hurricane Matthew flooded Elvington’s Three local departments were cited by the Pharmacy in Fair Bluff. The soda fountain OFSM for having three instead of four fire- was a treasure, with an old-fashioned wooden fighters respond to calls. In Whiteville and background with mirrors, revealing that it was Brunswick’s cases, the calls were alarms that a real antique in the drugstore world. Fair Bluff turned out to be false. residents and others hope it will survive the St. James is the other department cited. flood and flourish again. “We had some fire alarm calls where we Coleman said he was a junior in high school didn’t have the required number of person- when a relative, James Robinson, asked if he nel turn out from our department,” said would like to take his place working at Guiton’s Whiteville Fire Marshall Hal Lowder. “No so he could play baseball. one was ever in danger, and I think all the “I told him I sure did need a job,” Coleman calls were false alarms.” Staff Photo by Clara Cartrette Guiton’s owner Gerald Hege and Julius Coleman have developed a lifelong friendship. uu COLEMAN 3A uu VFD 2A Whoopi Goldberg naming Whiteville (thanks to Susan Deans’ graduate school project) as one of the winners of a Little Free Library award on The View? • Volume 126, Number 41 Tabor City’s Christmas decorations not only up, but burning brightly all over town? • Long-time Columbus Regional Healthcare volunteer Billy Carter Whiteville, North Carolina DIDYOB noting that he’d done just about everything but surgery as the hospital’s foundation honored Carter and a number of other hospital volunteers at its annual gala Saturday night? • The Whiteville High School honors band members marching at halftime at the UNC-Citadel game Saturday? • Members of DID YOU OBSERVE? the Carolyn T. High Garden Club picking up litter under the live oaks along Lee and Franklin streets Saturday? 8 95297 00000 6 2A • The News Reporter • Monday, November 21, 2016 VFD Continued from 1A Chief Greg Spivey of generally not counted against when people could bail out of in firefighting.” paid. We all have to go back to Brunswick said that of the the responding department. their store or jump off a trac- He said he understands the our real jobs when the fire is 260-plus calls his department “It’s not even part of the tor and come help,” he said. frustration. out.” answered, “the inspector fo- rules now,” Spivey said. “Today, people live in the “Things are different now,” As part of the probation, cused on one.” Since Brunswick and oth- district but work elsewhere. he said. “If we get a call about the department must send That call involved a bas- er departments have auto- They’re shut inside a building a tree down in a road at two in detailed reports of every call ketball at a church striking matic mutual aid from their all day long, and a lot of them the morning, we go on it wheth- to the OSFM for review. If no a fire alarm and setting it sister stations, Spivey said, can’t take the time off during er it’s likely to be a real hazard more problems are discovered, off. Although the alarm was it’s rare that the responding the workday to respond to a or just a pine limb. It seems sil- the probation will end after the known to be a false one, Spivey department is actually short fire. ly deploying a $400,000 piece of first of the year. The district’s said, “We still ran it. on manpower or equipment on “We have plenty of volun- equipment to move a tree limb fire insurance rating was not “We are going to respond any call. teers at night,” he said, “but that weighs five pounds, but affected by the probation. to every call, regardless of “If the inspections counted the day is what is killing us.” we treat every call as if it is Spivey said the department 5K Turkey whether or not we know an how many personnel we had As departments age, Spivey the same.” will continue treating every alarm is malfunctioning,” on the scene total, as opposed said, volunteers are becoming Brunswick has gained a fire alarm call as if it is a le- Trot planned he said. “It gets to be kind of to how many we had from harder to find. few members since the state gitimate danger. frustrating with some of our our station who responded, it “We have a lot of young guys released information about the “We don’t pick and choose ‘frequent fliers,’ but there isn’t wouldn’t have been a problem.” who come in, get their train- probation, Spivey said, “but our calls,” he said. “It’s just Thanksgiving anything we can do.” Daytime volunteers are few ing and certification, and then we’re still short of daytime kind of sad we’re having all Due to complaints from fire- and far between, Spivey said. leave to pursue becoming ca- volunteers, and I don’t know this trouble from an alarm morning fighters across the state, the Since Brunswick and most de- reer firefighters,” he said. “I what we can do about it. call, and now that rule has OSFM changed its require- partments are all volunteer, am not criticizing them for “We have a good, tight de- changed.