Newspapers / Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.) / March 22, 2017, edition 1 / Page 8
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B2 I MARCH 22,2017 News BERTIE LEDGER-ADVANCE The fabric of Bertie County since 1832 Two new House BiUs affect Bertie Co. BY LESLIE BEACHBOARD Bertie Ledger-Advance ROXOBEL-Two new N.C. Bills will affect Bertie County. The Bertie County Com missioners discussed two new house bills at Monday’s meeting. The first was House Bill .353 that was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly’s 2017 session, and thus far has earned fa vorable review. This bill would add the Salmon Creek Natural Area, along with other areas such natural areas across the state, to the North Carolina State Park System. Rep. Howard J. Hunter 111, Bertie County’s state rep resentative, sponsored the bill. According to the bill the Salmon Creek area is ecolog ically significant for its high- quality natural communities and also because it contains important prehistoric and historic archeological sites. These sites offer opportu nities for studying important archeological discoveries including an Indian occupa tion site containing evidence of the late 16th or early 17th century English presence. The area has been popular with researchers looking for clues to tie the area to the Lost Colony. According to Bertie Coun ty Manager Scott Sauer, the Salmon Creek land is adja cent to the property already purchased by Bertie County Commissioners. The 137-acres already owned by Bertie County was purchased in 2016 as a natu ral educational environment to be used for study. According to the H.B. 353, the that state may receive donations of appropriate land and may purchase oth er needed land for the edu cational projects, including the Salmon Creek Natural Area, with existing funds from the Clean Water Man agement Trust Fund, the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the federal Land and Water Trust Fund and other available sources of funding. A proper function of the State of North Carolina is to acquire and preserve park, recreational and scenic ar eas, and in every other ap propriate way, to preserve them as a part of our com mon heritage. The second bill introduced that would have an effect on Bertie County citizens would allow Bertie County to use garnishment of wages and liens to collect unpaid am bulance bills. House Bill 378 allows Ber tie County to begin garnish ing wages and placing prop erty liens for unpaid county ambulance services. According to the bill, re cipients using ambulance services provided by a county, a county-franchised ambulance supplemented by county funds or a munic ipality-owned and operated ambulance must pay the outstanding balance within 90 days after receiving the services. If the balance remains un paid, the county may treat the amount due for services as if it were a tax due to the county and may proceed to collect the amount due through use of attachment or garnishment. “North Carolina’s “debt set off” program allows lo cal governments to attach state tax refunds and lottery winnings for taxes owed and unpaid taxes on ambul?mce bill.” said Sauer “Represen tative Hunter has worked to ensure the Bertie County is included in the enabling legislation with the other 76 counties having the author ity to garnish, attach and lien for unpaid ambulance services.” According to Sauer, Since Bertie County is in its third full year of Paramedic Emer gency Medical Services, the county had not yet achieved this important billing status. “We are grateful to Rep. Hunter for taking the initia tive to keep Bertie County advancing forward in its ser vice to our residents,” Sauer added. Williams named chief magistrate WINDSOR - Magistrate Lindora Bond Williams was recently ap pointed to the position of Chief Magistrate for Bertie County by Chief District Court Judge Bren da G. Branch. Williams is a native of Bertie County and is a graduate of Ber tie High School, and has a Crimi nal Justice Degree from Eliza beth City State University. Before being appointed Magis trate of Bertie County by Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Cy Grant Sr., in 1996, Williams worked as a Telecommunicator and as a Deputy with the Bertie County Sheriff’s Department. She has provided dedicat ed and loyal service to Bertie County since her appointment as Magistrate. According to her supervisor. Chief Judge Branch, “Chief Williams represents Ber tie County in a professional man ner and endeavors to acquire extensive knowledge of the laws of the state so as to apply them fairly and respectfully to the cit izens of Bertie County.” Williams expressed her grati tude for the confidence Judge Branch has placed in her. “1 appreciate the opportunity to serve as a Magistrate of Ber tie County and the State of North Carolina,” she said. “1 welcome the added responsibility of Chief and look forward to interacting with other magistrates and judi cial officials to be of greater ben efit to our citizens.” New Bertie County Chief Magistrate Lindora Wiliiams Bertie-Hertford Foundation accepting applications The board of advisors of the Bertie-Hertford Commu nity Foundation is currently accepting grant applications for projects funded from its community grantmaking fund, according to Laura Beasley, board president. The Bertie-Hertford Wom en’s Fund is also accepting grant request from area non profits that serve the needs of women and children. Funds are available for nonprofit organizations that serve general charitable needs in Bertie and Hertford counties. Applications are available online beginning March 10. Visit nccommuni- tyfoundation.org for infor mation about applying. The deadline for submitting ap plications is noon April 11. The Bertie-Hertford Com munity Foundation is an af filiate of the North Carolina Community Foundation. The community grantmaking fund was established to sup port local chcu-itable needs through annual grants. In addition to Beasley, board members include: John Tay- loe (vice president), Lindsay Vaughan (secretary-treasur er), Austine Evans, Carole .Everett, Richard Hoggard, Robert Lee, Anna Pierce, Karen Ray, Penny Rose, Mar ti Tyler and Ron Wesson. For further information, contact NCCF Regional Di rector Natalie Peel at 252- 562-9824 or npeel@nccom- munityioundation.org or visit the NCCF website at nc- communityfoundation.org. About the North Carolina Community Foundation The NCCF is the single statewide community foun dation serving North Caro lina and has made $116 million in grants since its inception in 1988. With more than $222 million in assets, NCCF sustains 1,200 endow ments established to pro vide long-term support of a broad range of community needs, nonprofit organiza tions, institutions and schol arships. The NCCF partners with a network of affiliate foun dations to provide local re source allocation and com munity assistance across the state. An important com ponent of NCCF’s mission is to ensure that rural philan thropy has a voice at local, regional and national levels. Farmers can nominate STEM education schools ST. LOUIS, MO. - The number of jobs with an emphasis in science, technology, engineer ing and math (STEM) is expected to grow sig nificantly over the next ten years,, according to the National Science and Math Initiative. To help K-12 edu cators enhance their STEM curriculum, the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, will once again provide farmers with the oppor tunity to nominate their Bertie County public schools for opportuni ties to receive $10,000 and $25,000 grants. Former grant-winning schools, such as Early County Elementary School in Blakely, Ga., indicate the program stimulates school bud gets for STEM educa tion, as well as stu dents’ level of interest in science and math. In 2016, Early Coun ty Elementary School used the $10,000 grant they received from the Grow Rural Education program to expand the school’s science cur riculum by building a hoop house, allowing students to apply class room lessons about the ecosystem and plant lifecycles to the fruits and vegetables they harvest. “The Grow Rural Edu cation grant has had an impact throughout our entire school district. After our elementary school students har vest their crops, we provide the food to our high school culinary arts program,” said Early County Elementa ry School teacher Tim Spooner. “This allows high school students to learn their craft and then give a portion of that food to our area’s most needy residents.” In 2017, the Grow Ru ral Education program will award approxi mately $2.3 million to deserving schools. Since the program began in 2011, it has awarded more than $11 million to schools in ru ral communities across the United States. To qualify for a Grow Rural Education grant, farmers in eligible coun ties must nominate an eligible rural public school district to com pete for a merit-based grant of either $10,000 or $25,000. Farmers can nominate their school district from Jan. 1 to April 1. After the school dis trict receives a nomi nation, the Monsanto Fund will notify the dis trict and encourage ad ministrators and teach ers to design a grant that enhances STEM education in their dis trict. Nominated school districts have until April 15, to submit a grant application de scribing their project. To nominate a local school district for one of the Grow Rural Edu cation grants, as well as a complete list of pro gram rules and eligibili ty information, farmers can go to GrowRuralEd- ucation.com. Addition ally, more information about the program can be found at facebook. com/AmericasFarmers. About Monsanto Fund The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organi zation dedicated to strengthening the com munities. r > ^ 'j { COW4 come ^ome Bertie Ledger-Advance I Subscribe Today! Call 252-794-3185 USDA - Farm Service Agency Notice of Availability Willis Michael Bass, Jr. Draft Environmental Assessment U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces they will be completing an Environmental Assessment for the construction of broiler houses located at Cowand Road, Merry Hill, NC PIN 6853936921. The primary objective of the activity is to construct four 42’ x 500’ broiler houses. FSA is accepting comments on the potential effects of the proposed project on protected resources and the human environment through April21,2017. Information regarding this project can be reviewed in person at the Perquimans- Chowan FSA Office. Comments should be submitted to Michelle Hurdle-Winslow at 512 S. Church St., Box 1, Herford, NC 27944 or by email to michelle.winslow@nc.usda.gov.
Bertie Ledger-Advance (Windsor, N.C.)
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March 22, 2017, edition 1
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