Newspapers / The Roxboro Courier (Roxboro, … / March 19, 2011, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Roxboro Courier (Roxboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
'Get Patriotic in Person' The Courier Times Weather Outlook TODAY; Hi 67 Lo 42 SUNDAY; Hi 56 Lo43 See page A8 for info SATURDAY, March 19, 2011 Serving All of Person County Since 1881 Copyright The Courier-Times inc. 2011 All Rights Reserved MONDAY; Hi 65 Lo 51 TUESDAY; Hi 76 Lo 57 75c Our 129th Year — No. 23 Roxboro, North Carolina Three Sections — 24 Pages www.personcountylite.com Council not in favor of hike in occupancy tax, TDA board size Wilkins says passage unlikely if 'common ground' not found By PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT C-T Staff Writer pboatwright@roxboro-courier.com here. Ralph Clark It appears the City of Roxboro will not join the Person Board of County Com missioners in its quest to make changes to legislation affecting tourism here. The commissioners have asked the city to join them in an effort to add three more members to the Tourism Develop ment Authority board, and to increase the hotel/motel room occupancy tax City council members said, during their regular March meeting this week, that they saw no reason to change the occupancy tax rate or to have a TDA board of nine members. Mayor pro-tem Merilyn Newell said she would like to see an odd number on the TDA board, which is currently six members strong. But, said Newell, “I see no need for three more.” The TDA board now consists of three people approved by the city and three ap proved by the county, all of whom serve as unpaid volunteer members. Roxboro council member Sandy Stigall said he had spoken with some current TDA board members and, “they see no reason to change” the make-up of the board. Ralph Clark, now a member of the council, was city manager at the time the TDA board was formed. He said he played a role in the original legislation / See COUNCIL back page Winkle Wilkins Senate Bill 8 ■ Opponents, proponents offer opinions on proposal By GREY PENTECOST C-T Staff Writer greypentecost@roxboro-courier.com The Senate bill titled “No Cap on Number of Charter Schools,” proposed legislation that deals with lifting the cap on the number of charter schools that can currently operate in the state of North Carolina and other aspects of how charter schools are run, is still awaiting a decision by the General Assembly On Monday, the Person County Board of Education adopted a resolution created by the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA), request ing that the governor veto the proposed legislation of Senate Bill 8 unless cer tain changes are made. Part of the resolution reads: “At a minimum, revise the proposed legisla tion so that traditional public schools: 1) are not required to share in self-sustain ing, fee-based programs such as child nutrition; 2) are not required to share preschool and other federal funds (such as JROTC and Free and Reduced Lunch) with charter schools that do not provide these programs; 3) are not required to share fund balance reserves; and 4) are not required to share reimbursements (such as facility rental fees and activity bus fees) to which charter schools have no legitimate claim.” According to Schools Supt. Dr. Larry W. Cartner, the NCSBA is requesting that all local boards in the state adopt The Courier=Times Week’s Question: o you plan on ibuting financially relief efforts in an following the nrthquake and Tsunami? Iready have Ian to contribute o not plan to ■tribute ave not made up mind four Vote On-Line At roxboro-courier.com Results of our latest poll: Which area ACC team do you think has a better chance of winning the NCAA national championship? Duke - 59% Tim Chandler / C-T THIS IS HOW WE DO IT — As students perform classwork in the foreground, some of the participants of Person County Schools' annual TOUR PCS listen Thursday as Person High School teacher Angela Ut ley explains the North Carolina Virtual Public School. More TOUR PCS photos can be seen on page Bl. Commission will consider change in longevity pay policy By TIM CHANDLER Courier-Times Editor tchandler@roxboro-courier.com Carolina Solar Energy seeking permit to add to current site off Durham Road Person Board of County Commissioners will hold public hearing Monday morning The Person Board of County Com missioners will consider a change to the current personnel policy regarding the county’s employee longevity plan Monday morning. The commissioners are scheduled to meet in regular session at 9 a.m. in their boardroom in the Person County Office Building on Morgan Street. Currently, Person County provides a longevity pay plan to all county employ ees. Currently, Person County awards longevity pay prior to the five-year vest ment period required with the North Carolina Retirement System, according to County Manager Heidi York. “It is recommended that the first service level at which an employee is awarded longevity pay be amended to five continuous years of service,” York wrote to commissioners in an agenda abstract. By TIM CHANDLER Courier-Times Editor tchandler@roxboro-courier.com Carolina Solar Energy, LLC will seek a special use permit for a solar energy generator from the Person Board of County Commissioners during a public hearing Monday morning. The commissioners will be meeting in regular session at 9 a.m. at the Per son County Office Building on Morgan Street. Carolina Solar Energy is proposing placement of the solar energy genera tor in the Person Industrial Park near the intersection of U.S. 501 and Crown See OPPONENTS backpage Craft Boulevard. The company intends to lease seven acres of a 50-plus acre parcel at the site. In March Of 2009, commissioners granted a special use permit to Carolina Solar Energy for a four-acre site adjacent to the current proposed site. The site approved in 2009 was for 54 panels, measuring 65 feet by 15 feet with each consisting of 72 individual panels. The proposal to be considered by com missioners Monday calls for 102 arrays with 44 panels with dimensions of 73 feet by 12.5 feet. In 2009, Progress Energy agreed to buy the energy produced at the Carolina Solar Energy facility to Progress Energy for distribution to its customers. Jerry Dudzig, vice president of Carolina Solar Energy, said then that the purchase agreement with Progress Energy would be for 20 years. Carolina Solar Energy proposed the 2009 solar proj ect in response to Progress Energy’s request for renewable energy proposals issued in 2008. Carolina Solar Energy entered into a 25-year lease agreement with Person County in 2009 for the property south of Roxboro. In addition to a $27,000 initial payment from Carolina Solar Energy to Person County in 2009, property tax estimates for the site have been proj ected at $4,500 per year. See COMMISSIONERS back page INSIDE Saturday Agenda A2 Churches/Religion B2-3 Classified C section Commentary AS Court.., B5 Do You Know A3 Editorial A4 Education A9 Legal Notices C3 Lifestyle B4 Looking Back A3 Obituaries A11 Pentecost A 2 Realty Transfers B5 Sports ASS Spotlight A10 TV Listings B2 4879 08696 4th TOUR PCS deemed a success By GREY PENTECOST C-T Staff Writer greypentecost@roxboro-courier.com North Carolina - 41% Person County Schools had one of the largest groups yet in its fourth annual TOUR PCS program Thursday. Approximately 30 participants, along with central office staff members, spent the day touring schools and seeing for themselves what goes on inside class rooms. According to program specialist Har riett Tillett, the participants asked a lot of relevant questions throughout the day, and were able to observe a variety of instructional areas at all three levels: elementary, middle and high school. The tour made stops at Southern Middle School, Person High School and Helena Elementary, as well as the maintenance department. Program specialist for professional development, grant writing and public information Paula Chandler organized the tour for the first time this year. She said one of her goals was to get the number of participants up, so she made registration available online, publicized the event in the The Courier-Times, and made “ConnectEd” calls to parents. She also tried involving the faith community by creating flyers for a couple of area churches to put in their bulletins and announce during services. Chandler said that attendees seemed most interested in the North Caro lina Virtual Public School lesson they observed. Visiting the maintenance department was a new addition to the tour this year. Chandler said normally all the visits are to schools. She said PCS wanted to show participants this par ticular department because there tends to be a misconception that maintenance and transportation are one department. She said it also helped people see how the budget cuts are affecting this particular department. “I met so many nice people,” said Chandler of the tour experience, “and found out we have a lot in common. We are all interested and concerned about PCS and the children who attend. We all want the best for our students.” She added, “This experience will help me serve the district better as public information officer. I had a firsthand See TOUR back page Grey Pentecost / C-T WRAPPING UP — Person County Schools Supt. Dr. Larry Cartner closed out the annual TOUR PCS event with a question and answer session.
The Roxboro Courier (Roxboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 19, 2011, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75