January 2005 The Shoreline Page 3
V
Hail and
Farewell
Art Taylor (above) proudly displays the
Fireman of the Year plaque presented to him
at a holiday get-together of town employees
early in December. Taylor was chosen for the
accolade in November by vote of his fire
department colleagues. The presentation had
a bittersweet quality since Taylor, a popular
member of the PKS fire and EMS service for
a year and a half, left the department shortly
thereafter.
He and his wife, Bonny, had been living in
Swansboro. They are relocating to Ohio in
order to be close to Bonny ’ s ailing father. As
a Navy medical corpsman (he retired recently
after 20 years of service). Art has lived in this
area on and off since 1984 while stationed at
one or another of the military installations
here.
With his years of experience as a medical
corpsman. Art was eminently qualified for
his role in PKS as an emergency medical
technician. He loved the firefighting aspects
of the job as well, so much so that he also
served as a volunteer fireman in Swansboro
Chances are he’ll be firefighting again in
Kettering, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, where
the Taylors will make their home. Both Art
and his wife are originally from Kettering.
His colleagues in Pine Knoll Shores will
miss Art. They wish him and his family well.
In Memoriam
December, 2004
December Board of
Commissioners Meeting
By Yvette Bannen
Mayor Lamson read a Resolution of Ap
preciation for Charles S. Hester for donating
four lots for a retainer pond on Yaupon Road
to be used for the stormwater drainage project.
Mr. Hester is hospitalized so was unable to be
present for the award.
G. Lee Carroll, CPA gave the Town’s Fi
nancial Report for FY 2003-2004. He re
ported that the finances are in good shape,
that the Town is doing a good job managing
the budget and that the Staff does a good job
with reports.
Bruce Flynt was named the Acting Emer
gency Services Director after the resignation
of Don Melby.
A Resolution was passed to support a grant
application for acquisition of land to protect
MCAS Cherry Point.
Robert Poit
Give Chris Jones a surfboard, a fishing rod
and a piece of wood and he’s a happy man.
Whenever he has a spare moment, you’ll find
him either riding the waves, angling for floun
der, or fashioning a surfboard or some other
sturdy project in the woodworking shop at his
home in Mill Creek.
Trouble is, Chris usually doesn’t have too
many spare moments to pursue his hobbies.
His job as Director of Inspections and Public
Property in Pine Knoll Shores takes up a good
deal of his time. He’s served in the position
since 2000 after filling similar posts for the
counties of Carteret and Onslow.
While his predecessors used to be known
as building inspectors, Chris’s job descrip
tion has become a lot broader than that. Now
his concerns not only include building projects
of all kinds, but street and building mainte
nance, beach access, canal bulkheading,
signage, and pest control, to name a few. “ I
know six ways to kill mosquitoes,” Chris
says with a half smile. All of these things take
time.
Then there are family considerations. Chris
and Thelma, his high school sweetheart and
wife of 20 years (they celebrated the anniver
sary in September), have two children. Son
Cade, 15, attends Cape Lookout Marine Sci
ence High School, and daughter Jasa, 14, is a
student at Croatan High.
It was his growing family that got Chris
into the inspection business. After graduation
Police Chief Culpepper brought up the
issue again of house numbers that are not
readily visible from the street. If the Fire
Dept, Police or EMS can’t SEE the house
number, then valuable time is wasted. An
ordinance might have to be enacted requiring
the number to be posted alongside the drive
way.
MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM: Several
hundred responses to the questionnaire sent
out by Cavanaugh have been received so far
and this will help in putting a value on the
water system.
PROJECT 933: Work has slowed because
there was a miscalculation of the volume and
quality of sand on Brandt Island. Negotia
tions continue with the various associations
regarding minor points of beach access.
Meet the Staff
By Bill White
from West Carteret High School in Morehead
City, where he grew up, Chris went into the
construction trades, helping to build facilties
at military bases as well as commercial struc
tures. When the children came along, Chris
realized that working in construction in those
CHRIS JONES
¥
days offered few benefits with which to pro
vide for the future. He considered how best to
use what he had learned about building and
decided that becoming involved in the in-
Welcome Aboard!
Commissioner Mary Kanyha welcomes
Officer Tara Young, newest member of the
PKS Police Department. Officer Young, who
makes her home in Emerald Isle with her
husband and son, served in law enforcement
in South Plainfield, N.J., for two years before
moving to this area. Before starting her law
enforcement career she had served in the Air
Force for 10 years.
spection process was a natural progression
that offered the twin advantages of steady
employment and good fringe benefits.
In 1993, Chris applied for and landed a job
as an inspector with Carteret County. Five
years later he moved on to Onslow County
when a position their offered greater opportu
nities. Then, when the post in Pine Knoll
Shores became vacant in 2000, he success
fully applied for it. You might say Chris is
familiar with PKS from below the ground up,
his father, Gerald, having been an environ
mental health specialist with Carteret County.
Chris estimates that his father, now retired,
probably issued 50 to 60 percent of the septic
permits in Pine Knoll Shores.
Chris inherited his fondness for fishing
from his father, who now lives in Salter Path
and diligently engages in the sport. Chris’s
son also likes to fish, and sometimes you can
see three generations of Joneses fishing side
by side.
Chris’s association with PKS has been a
happy one, permitting him to earn good ben
efits, to work with good people, and to enjoy
the added fringe benefit of being next to the
ocean and its waves. A surfing enthusiast
since childhood, Chris was a member of the
surfing club at West Carteret High, where he
also played football. He still surfs year ‘round,
except when the water temperature falls be
low 49 degrees.
“Then,” he says, “I let the young guys take
over.”