Page 6 The Shoreline September 2009
Meet Landon Figg
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By Phyllis Makuck
Ar.
tA
PKS Firefighter: Landon Figg is literally between a rock and a hard place.
It's a Small World
By Richard Seale
Editor's Note: This is another in the series
on town employees.
Landon Figg and her husband
Coleman Drummond (Drum) Figg Jr.
have made firefighting a family affair.
Landon is a firefighter and emergency
medical technician (EMT) in Pine Knoll
Shores. Her husband is the fire chief in
Newport.
Landon began working with the fire
department here in 2005, when her
husband took a job with Atlantic Beach
Fire Department and with Carteret
County as a medic, firefighter, and
EMT.
Landon left firefighting for a time
and went to work with Crystal Coast
Landscaping at Beacon's Reach. Then,
she and her husband moved to Virgirua
Beach. In May 2009, they moved back to
take the jobs they currently have.
Originally from Virginia, Landon
and Drum, both avid skiers, met in
Snowshoe, West Virginia, a ski resort,
where friends introduced Landon to
firefighting. She explains: "The year-
round commimity was tiny, and just
about everyone that lived on or near
the resort was a volunteer firefighter."
She was also a ski patroller and decided
to go to paramedic school to become
an EMT. Drum was the Fire Chief at
Snowshoe. He held weekly training
drills and business meetings. Landon
says participating was a social outlet, but
when an alarm went off, they were ready
and willing to do what was necessary
to respond.
She learned how firefighters pull
together as a team. "You had to trust
that each and every firefighter would
put their life on the line for you, and you
would do the same," she says. As the
resort grew, demands for firefighting
and emergency medical services (EMS)
increased. Landon became one of
Drum's first paid staff members.
Landon says she loves what she does
and the people she works with at the
Fire Department in Pine Knoll Shores:
"We have a smart, well-educated,
articulate staff. It's a great mix of
people from in and out of state. They
are progressive and will not hesitate to
take the initiative." She also speaks
highly of the voltmteer staff, who, she
says, are passionate about what they do
and are very much a part of the team,
showing up on every fire call and on
many EMS calls.
The Figgs found the Crystal Coast
through a friend who moved to Atlantic
Beach from Snowshoe. They currently
live in Brandywine with their Black
Labrador, Scout.
It is not uncommon for folks from
PKS to be wandering the world. It's
not all that unusual for folks to be off
to similar destinations. But when not
travelling together on the same tour, it
is pretty tmusual for PKS'ers to be able
to set up a luncheon meeting halfway
round the world! But for the Karlssons
and Seales this happened in Jime when
their independent travel itineraries put
them both in Oslo, Norway, for a day.
By chance, each couple had travelled
on the Hurtigruten Line from Kirkines
to Bergen, Norway, just two days
apart. Once in Bergen, each couple had
travelled on to Oslo on the "Norway
V In A Nutshell" bus, boat and train trip
through Songefjord and Flam, arriving
in Oslo still just two days apart. They had
learned of these plans at a dinner in PKS
just before leaving and exchanged hotel
information in hopes of being able to set
Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative
(CCEC) members may have noticed
rate increases in their basic charge.
For residential consumers, the basic
charge has gone from $12.50 to $20.00
per month. CCEC explained in its news
brief to customers that the new rate
structure is the result of a Cost of Service
Study that examined not only the cost
of purchased power, but also the cost of
materials, labor, and capital.
Craig Conrad, CCEC's Chief Executive
up a meeting in Oslo. And so it came
to pass that in a gentle rain they met at
the Grand Cafe of the Grand Hotel next
to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament
Building) for a wonderful luncheon.
There is something very special about
being able to meet friends and neighbors
imder such faraway conditions. Pine
Knoll Shores and its people are special.
After the meeting, Ulf (who is a native
Swede) and Ilene Karlsson boarded
an overnight train and headed for
Stockholm and a 130 member family
reunion with Ulf being the patriarch.
Linda and Richard Seale rejoined
Linda's Duke Nursing School roommate
and her husband with whom they had
"done" Finland (where in Ivalo, Lapland
it snowed on us) and Norway for some
additional Oslo adventures. Yes, it is a
small and wonderful world!
Officer and General Manager said,
"As a member-owned, non-profit
organization, we work hard to minimize
cost increases, but we have little control
over energy markets and state and
federal mandates ... as a member-
owned cooperative we have no reason
to generate a large profit. . . ." In fact,
Conrad explained, any money earned
above and beyond expenses is actually
returned to members over a period of
time.
Unlikely Meeting: Ulf and Ilene Karlsson join Richard and Linda Seale for limch
in the Grand Cafe at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway.
Electric Rate Hikes