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Public Notices

Pender County Utilities Lifts Stage 1 Voluntary Water Restrictions

BURGAW – Today Pender County Utilities (PCU) lifted the voluntary water restrictions issued May 14 for Hampstead and Scotts Hill, including the neighborhoods of Avendale, Cross Creek and Harrison Cove, as well as Island Creek Road and the neighborhoods of Wylie Branch and the Reserve at Island Creek.

“Pender County Utilities water customers in these areas are no longer under the voluntary water restrictions,” said Kenny Keel, Pender County Utilities director.

Pender County Utilities improved the system by installing new equipment to supplement the county water supply from Wallace as well as adjusted the county’s pumping station and valves that maximized the current system. Additionally, one new Hampstead water well has become operational, and a second well is under construction and will be running by January.

“While the restrictions are lifted, we urge all Pender County water customers to use this natural resource wisely throughout the year,” said Keel.

Keel said customers can practice everyday water conservation by washing only full loads in the laundry and dishwasher, use spring-loaded nozzles on garden hoses, identify and repair water leaks, and refrain from leaving faucets running while shaving or while rinsing dishes.

“All of us want to be good stewards of our natural resources, including our water,” said Keel. “Being conscientious of our water consumption will result in lower water bills.”

For more information regarding the lifting of the Stage 1 Voluntary Water Restrictions, call PCU at 910-259-1570.

Live Healthy, save on healthcare expenses

Pender County is a member of National Association of Counties, known as NACo. Through this national organization, Pender County Health and Human Social Services offers a program called Live Healthy.

The Live Healthy Discount Program is provided to you in a joint effort by participating county, parish and borough governments, and the National Association of Counties (NACo). It offers savings on prescriptions and services to support individuals and families. Learn more about the benefits of the program below.

No-cost Prescription Discounts
Use your prescription discount card for discounts at over 66,000 pharmacies at home and across the country.
Simple present your discount card at a participating retain pharmacy along with your prescription(s), and save an average of 24 percent of you prescription drugs.

Print a Live Healthy Discount card here or you can pick one up at a variety of local government and community locations.

Low-cost Health Discounts
Health discounts are available for a wide range of services and supplies for one low monthly or annual cost.
Discounts available on vision, hearing, diabetic supplies, lab services and diagnostic imaging, plus telemedicine consults at no additional cost.
Some state specific restrictions may apply to some benefits.

Low-cost Dental Discounts
You can receive dental discounts on a wide range of procedures and services for a low monthly or annual fee. Discounts on check-ups, x-rays, cleanings, dentures, root canals, extractions and more.

MinuteClinic® Discounts
Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are available to administer many services to you including vaccinations, physicals, blood pressure screenings and more.

Wesley Stewart, director of the department of social services, said Pender County’s health and human services won a 2010 NACo national award for offering this cost-saving program.

For more details, click here.

Reminder: State seeks feedback on Chemours Consent Order Addendum, Comment Period open through Thursday

RALEIGH – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality seeks public comment on the Addendum to the Consent Order, which requires significant additional actions by Chemours to prevent PFAS pollution from entering the Cape Fear River via contaminated groundwater from the Fayetteville Works Site. Comments will be accepted through Thursday, Sept. 17.

Since 2017, DEQ actions and the Consent Order have stopped the process wastewater discharge from the facility and drastically reduced air emissions of PFAS by 99.9%. The additional actions in the Addendum to the Consent Order between DEQ, Cape Fear River Watch and Chemours will further reduce the PFAS contamination to the Cape Fear River and improve water quality for downstream communities.

Moving forward, Chemours is required to treat four identified ‘seeps’ which account for more than half of the contaminated groundwater reaching the river in two phases.
• The interim measures to filter PFAS at an efficiency of at least 80% from the first of the four seeps will go into effect starting by Mid-November – with all four completed by April 2021.
• The permanent measure is the construction of a subsurface barrier wall approximately 1.5 miles long and groundwater extraction system that will remove at least 99% of PFAS to be completed by March 2023.
Chemours is also required to treat on-site stormwater that is adding residual pollution to the river with a capture and treatment system that must remove at least 99% of PFAS.

Failure to meet the schedules or achieve the removal goals will result in financial penalties, including:
• Failure to meet the construction schedule for the interim measures will result in fines of $5,000 per day for the first 14 days and $10,000/day until construction is complete.
• Failure to meet the barrier wall installation schedule results in a $150,000 fine followed by $20,000 per week until installation is complete.
• Failure to meet the barrier wall’s 95% mass loading goal in the initial demonstration results in a $500,000 fine, with a $100,000 fine for failure to meet any of the four subsequent demonstrations.

Comments on the Addendum will be accepted through September 17. Comments can be submitted electronically to comments.chemours@ncdenr.gov or mailed to Assistant Secretary’s Office, RE: Chemours Public Comments 1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601.

DEQ will consider the public comments before the Addendum is presented for entry by the Bladen County Superior Court. The Addendum is available here.

ATMC awarded USDA ReConnect grant to bring high-speed internet to Pender County

ATMC announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded the cooperative a $21.6 million dollar grant to help fund its ‘Faster Pender’ project which will allow the Shallotte-based company to expand high-speed internet access to over 7,000 addresses in rural Pender County. Gigabit broadband internet access will be made available to 6,853 residential addresses, over 285 businesses, 19 educational facilities, nine healthcare facilities, 15 critical community facilities, and 209 agricultural operations. ATMC will contribute $7.2 million dollars in matching funds to bring the total project investment to $28.9 million.
“The need for rural broadband has never been more apparent than it is now – as our nation manages the coronavirus national emergency. Access to telehealth services, remote learning for school children, and remote business operations all require access to broadband,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “I am so proud of our rural communities who have been working day in and day out, just like they always do, producing the food and fiber America depends on. We need them more than ever during these trying times and expanding access to this critical infrastructure will help ensure rural America prospers for years to come.”
In December of 2019, the USDA announced the availability of a second round of funding under the ReConnect Program. Through the ReConnect broadband program, the USDA has over $600 million available for grants, grant/loan combinations, and low-interest loans. Applications for the second round of funding were accepted between January 31, 2020 and April 15, 2020.The funds awarded must be used to cover the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas.
“It is a huge honor for ATMC to once again be a recipient ReConnect funding from the USDA,” said Keith Holden, ATMC CEO. “This grant will make a considerable impact in Pender County for many years to come by helping us bring high-speed internet to thousands of residents that have been without it for far too long. We would like to extend our gratitude to the UDSA, Congressman Rouzer, the Pender County Board of Commissioners, and all the residents, farmers, business owners, and community leaders who provided letters of support for the Faster Pender project. That support was key in helping us win this critical funding.”
With a project of this size, there is a great deal of preliminary work that must be done before actual construction can begin. ATMC anticipates construction of the new fiber-optic network to begin during the middle part of 2021 after all necessary program paperwork and environmental studies have been completed.
The network will cover approximately 538 square miles, including underserved communities west of Interstate 40 to the Bladen County line, including Atkinson and Currie, and unserved areas east of Burgaw and Rocky Point. The network will enable the delivery of high-speed internet speeds of up to 1Gigabit per second as well as telephone and home security and automation services.
“Once upon a time it was the interstate system, water and sewer that was key for commerce, and quite frankly today if you don’t have broadband, none of that matters,” commented Congressman David Rouzer. “Broadband is the infrastructure of today and of the future.”
Chairman of the Pender County Board of Commissioners, George Brown, also spoke at Friday’s event saying, “Imagine not being able to use a computer or phone because of a lack of high-speed internet, that’s a reality for many in our county. It’s not about congratulating the folks that made this grant happen, today congratulations are in order for the people of Pender County who will benefit tremendously from this grant.
We are so thankful to Secretary Perdue, Congressman Rouzer and ATMC for this gift they’ve given to Pender County.”
While this will be the first time ATMC has served residents and businesses in Pender County, the cooperative has been serving rural North Carolinians for more than 65 years. ATMC has a great track record of using grant funds to provide high-speed internet to rural areas. In 2010, ATMC received $16 million dollars through a USDA grant to build a fiber-optic network to the unserved communities of Nakina, Guideway, and Old Dock in Columbus County. In May of 2019, ATMC was awarded $1 million dollars in grant funding from the NC GREAT Grant program which is allowing the company to bring fiber-optic service to underserved homes in the Beaverdam community. Last December, ATMC won a $7.9 million dollar grant from the USDA ReConnect Grant program to serve Columbus County residents near Tabor City, Hallsboro, Lake Waccamaw, Bolton, and areas north of Whiteville. And, in the last few weeks, the cooperative announced that it had been awarded $3.7 million dollars from the NC GREAT Grant program to provide fiber optic internet services to approximately 2,600 residents and businesses in rural portions of Columbus, Robeson, and Duplin counties.
For more information about ATMC’s progress on the ReConnect Grant, visit www.fasterpender.com or call 910-754-4311.

Attention local fishermen

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and other interested parties to sit on various fisheries advisory committees.

Two regional advisory committees – Northern and Southern – and three standing advisory committees – Finfish, Habitat and Water Quality, and Shellfish/Crustacean – review matters referred to them by the commission, such as draft fishery management plans. Committees may also bring fisheries issues pertaining to their region or subject matter to the commission’s attention.

The Marine Fisheries Commission chairman appoints members to these committees for three-year terms, and several terms will expire in January.

To qualify to serve on a committee, applicants must not have had a significant fisheries violation within the past three years.

Individuals interested in serving as an adviser should be willing to attend meetings at least once every two months and actively participate in the committee process, which includes reviewing scientific documents and issue papers to make recommendations on management strategies.

Advisers who complete the necessary paperwork will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties.

Adviser applications are available online here or at Division of Marine Fisheries’ offices or by calling 252-808-8022 or 800-682-2632. Applications should be returned by Oct. 15, 2020 by email to Dana.Gillikin@ncdenr.gov or by mail to: N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, Attention: Dana Gillikin.

A message from Karen Brinson Bell to NC Voters

RALEIGH, N.C. – The following is a message to North Carolina voters from Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections:

It is illegal to vote twice in an election. N.C.G.S. § 163-275(7) makes it a Class I felony for a voter, “with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at more than one precinct or more than one time…in the same primary or election.” Attempting to vote twice in an election or soliciting someone to do so also is a violation of North Carolina law.

There are numerous checks in place in North Carolina that prevent people from double voting. Electronic pollbooks with information about who has already voted are used at every early voting site. If a voter tries to check in who has already voted, they will be prevented from voting a regular ballot. A voter will be offered a provisional ballot if they insist on voting, and this ballot will be researched after Election Day to determine whether it should be counted.

On Election Day, voters who have voted absentee are removed from the pollbook, which is updated before voting starts at 6:30 a.m. Absentee ballots that are received on Election Day are not counted until after the election, and this prevents double voting.

Also, the State Board conducts audits after each election that check voter history against ballots cast and would detect if someone tries to vote more than once in an election. Because absentee ballots and early voting ballots are retrievable, if someone tries to get around the system, their ballot can be retrieved and not counted, so it will not affect the outcome of an election.

The State Board has a dedicated investigations team that investigates allegations of double voting, which are referred to prosecutors when warranted.

If you request an absentee by-mail ballot but decide later that you would like to vote in person instead, you may. You should discard your absentee ballot. Do not send it back in.

If you have already placed your ballot in the mail but are not sure whether it has been accepted by your county board of elections, North Carolina offers a few ways to check the status of your absentee by-mail ballot without leaving your home.

Voters can:
1. Check your voter record at the State Board’s Voter Search Tool to find out whether your ballot was accepted by your county board of elections. This information will appear in the voter record after a ballot has been accepted.
2. Sign up for BallotTrax, when it launches in the next few days, to track your ballot through the system. BallotTrax is a new service that will allow voters to track their ballot through the mail and confirm receipt by the county board of elections, much like they can track their online order or pizza delivery. When it launches, a link will be available at NCSBE.gov.
3. Contact your county board of elections if you have questions about their ballot status.

The State Board office strongly discourages people from showing up at the polls on Election Day to check whether their absentee ballot was counted. That is not necessary, and it would lead to longer lines and the possibility of spreading COVID-19.

North Carolina elections officials encourage voters to request their ballot as soon as possible and return it as soon as they are ready to do so. By doing so, you can track your ballot and ensure your vote counts.

An important message from the Pender County Board of Elections

North Carolina offers several options to Vote, you may:

  • Vote by Mail- request an absentee by mail ballot, the ballot will be mailed to the address you choose and after sealing the completed ballot in the return envelope and completing the back portion of the envelope. You may (1) mail the ballot back to the Elections office, (2) you (or next of kin) may hand deliver it to the office in Burgaw Mon – Fri 8am-5pm, the Satellite office at the Pender County Annex in Hampstead on Tuesday or Thursday 9am-4pm, or you may return it at a One Stop Early voting site Oct 15 – Oct 31. VOTERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAIL THE COMPLETED BALLOT BACK TO THE OFFICE.
  • Vote during the early voting hours at any one stop site *SEE ONE STOP PLAN ON OUR MAIN PAGE*
  • Vote Election Day November 03, at your correct Precinct.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THE ELECTIONS OFFICE AT 807 S. WALKER STREET WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR VOTING THIS YEAR. IN LIEU OF THE OFFICE, EARLY VOTING WILL BE HELD AT THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AUDITORIUM LOCATED AT 801 S. WALKER STREET BURGAW, NC

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