FROM THE DESK OF THE POLICE CHIEF First Day of School Coining Soon By Ryan Thompson, Pine Knoll Shores Police Chief North Carolina's law on stoppit^for a school bus AM traffic mnit stop tor a stopptd hiis, tmltss it is en a road ei lour or mom lants with a Sf cgMe iyr«f Iasi#. In thosi instaucts. CHifiomini traffic tes ooi havt to stop mmm chitorari will r©t M cmssirrg. tM rasd to riaeh mt foys, Traffic feltowfni i feus must.always stop with ihg bus. If in doubt, always slop fer a stopped ten. Summer Is eertatnly flying by. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes as I get older. Pretty soon, our children will be waiting for school buses to pick them up throughout our neighborhoods. I am fre quently asked about school bus laws and when a motorist should stop for a stopped school bus. For everyone In Pine Knoll Shores, the answer Is pretty simple. You must always stop for a school bus evetywhere in Pine Knoll Shores, None of our streets are constructed in a manner where it is legal to pass a stopped school bus. For the rest of Carteret County and North Carolina, the answer isn’t always so simple. The North Carolina Department of Transportation published an easy-to-read graphic that should help anyone who is unsure when they should stop. Did you know that our officers follow our school buses In the mornings and afternoons? We do this to ensure motor ists are stopping as they should while also keeping a keen eye out for violators. A ticket for passing a stopped school bus is a mandatory court appearance and will absolutely affect your Insurance rates. The most common excuse we hear from violators who pass a stopped school bus is that they are running late or didn't know they were required to stop. Hopefully this article and graphic will help everyone keep safety in mind when it comes to school buses and our children. Scam of the month: Secret Shopper Scam If you get anything in the mail advertising for you to become a Secret Shopper and make boatloads of money... I am sorry to tell you that this is a scam. It may look legitimate, but I assure you it is not real. Businesses will never send out mail to random individuals advertising lucrative positions. We have had several of these types of scams reported to the Police Department throughout the summer, and thankfully nobody has become a victim. The scammers will send out detailed documents in the mail advertising that you can make a large sum of money by simply doing your normal shopping. They will send you a check that looks real—and ask you to return a portion of the amount of the check to them. Just like the offer of employment, the check is not real. They try to legitimatize the check by saying you should use the remainder of the proceeds to shop and report back to them. The rule my parents taught me growing up applies here: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. O latent AH tfaf % ■m ^ I arnediinssiiaratiGn Only traffic fefcwing tl® scif*^ btis mist %tm Q Two-laner&adMfltliactiitef All both s?r€f.ttons must stop r f '’f ' ■ . ,r r ' } Q Fmir-lar^road without a stparatlon All Paffjc both directions must stop Q Roaulof ftmrlaf^^iiKMf wfthac»Mtr 0(% i«f f k. foiowini t he schorl bus sidp. Wi: mm MM Mm Gtmfcrt- Q: BOWDEN S FURNITURE SOFAS I SLEEP SOFAS | RECLINERS | LIFT CHAIRS | DINING | RUGS Monday-Friday: 9-7, Saturday 9-6, Sunday: Closed IV/Y 70 WEST. HAVELOCK NC \ 252 447 3648 www.bowcienandcarrfurniture.com