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MEET YOUR TOWN STAFF
Captain Jesse Chaplain, PKSFD
Byjacquie Pipkin
Captain Jesse Chaplain is a third generation firefighter and passionate about
it. His dad, Jesse Sr., was a 20-year veteran firefighter and his granddad Jackie
Chaplain served 40 years as a firefighter, both with the Beaufort Fire Department.
As a youth. Captain Chaplain spent his free time and school holidays hanging
around the fire station with his dad, observing and absorbing all there was to know
about firefighting and the workings of a town fire department.
Captain Chaplain describes himself as “born and bred Carteret County.” He
grew Up in Beaufort and attended East Carteret High School. Upon graduation,
he had already completed the required classes to become a firefighter. At age 16
he joined the Harkers Island Volunteer Fire Department where he continued his
training. At age 18, he celebrated joining the ranks as a full-fledged firefighter,
able now to enter burning buildings to rescue victims and quell fires. He went
on to earn his EMT certification, and in 2011 joined the Pine Knoll Shores Fire
Department on a part-time basis. In a short time he became a full-time member of
the department and just this past February was promoted to captain.
Captain Chaplain and his wife, Courtney, and 11-month-old daughter. Carter,
live on Harkers Island with their two cats, Binsky and Simon. Mrs. Chaplain, after
taking nearly a yea.r off work to take care of Carter, who was born prematurely
and weighed only 3.5 pounds, recently began her position as a receptionist with
Carteret Ob-Gyn Associates.
As we learned from previous interviews with other Pine Knoll Shores
firefighters, their schedule of three 24-hour days on duty and four days off duty
provides an opportunity for additional employment opportunities. Captain
Chaplain has not only a second, but a third job. It shouldn’t surprise you to know
that both are with other local fire departments. He is the assistant chief at the
Harkers Island Fire Department and firefighter-on-call with the Beaufort Fire
Department.
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With Mom working full time and Dad working more than full time, the
Chaplains cherish their time at home with their daughter. In addition, they enjoy
local family celebrations and visits with friends in New Bern.
During our interview. Captain Chaplain enlightened me as to the four-step
process required for full-time employment as a firefighter. First there is an
application and then an agility test conducted by the department, followed by an
initial interview with the firefighting team and a second interview with the chief
Finally, there is a drug test and psychiatric evaluation conducted by a private
agency. If all steps of the process are completed and tests passed, the candidate is
welcomed to the department.
It is interesting to note that the first question asked by the interview team is,
“Why do you want to work for the Pine Knoll Shores Fire Department?” The reply
is often because of the professional and inviting way the candidates have been
treated in their dealings with the department, as well as the respect they have been
given during every step of the hiring process. One candidate replied, “Because you
make me feel like family.”
Mayor Ken Haller
(Continued from page 14)
As we know, Ken Haller also liked poetry and would sometimes publish
colloquial poems. Over the years, some appeared in the Carteret News-Times and
The Shoreline. Here’s one entitled “A PKS Retiree on a Summer Day,” printed in
1980;
The fish ain’t bitin’ in this heat.
The sea’s too warm for swimmin;
My boat’s laid up, my house is full
Of tea and cards and wimmin.
It’s much too early in the day
To take a nip - I’m certain
The grass needs mowin’, but the thought
Just starts my back ahurtin.
So what’s to do. Go spread that stuff
To stop those weeds from creepin?
I think I’ll rest a bit
And do a little sleepin.
He ended on a more serious note, reminding residents to vote.
And, in a 1983 Shoreline, Haller wrote this stanza about residents not showing
up at Board of Commissioner meetings:
If people ignore
These meetings much more
And attendance continues* so low.
This indifference may
Bring about a new day •
When Commissioners, too, fail to show!
Ken Haller died on December 30, 1994, at the age of 88. His wife, Newell, lived
until November 15, 2011. Both are remembered for their major contributions to
Pine Knoll Shores. In 1995, Mayor David Hasulak signed a resolution as “a token
of appreciation” for all Mayor Ken Haller did and sent Newell a letter indicating
that the Board of Commissioners had on February 10 held a moment of silence in
her husband’s'memory.
Editor’s note: The name of our town newspaper changed over the years. From
June-September 1973, it was called Pine Knoll Shore-Line;/rom October 1973-July
1977, it was called Pine Knoll Shore Line; beginning with the issue of August 1977,
it was called Pine Knoll Shoreline; and in September 1979, the name changed to
The Shoreline-
Captain Jesse Chaplain, wife Courtney and daughter Carter.
April 2018 I The Shoreline
15