MAY 2019

Monthly Newsletter showcasing activities and accomplishments of the departments within Rutherford County Government.

Airport

The new self-service fuel farm at KFQD is now fully operational with both AVGAS and Jet-A available

24/7. We truly appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon!

This month, the airport fuel farm has a great addition in place….a new fuel farm light!

(Pictured below)

2

Cooperative Extension

Animal Control Services has been gearing up for spring and summer. New gravel was ordered for the grounds and the back kennels. We were very excited when we received our new ani-mal control truck and box last month. Brother Wolf has been diligently working on updating the trailer into a cattery for our shelter cats. Donations were received from the public, and we are working with a local business to hopefully receive more to help the lost pets of our coun-

ty.

It has been somewhat challenging this month with several owner-requested euthanasia. With

that being said, it does give us some pride to know that we can provide this service to people in our community that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to humanely say goodbye to their

beloved pet. Pet owners have shown their gratitude for this service.

We captured three nuisance pigs from the community, but our rescues are now full. In the upcoming months we will need to focus on what to do with these animals. We rescued a squirrel and got a juvenile opossum. Our team worked closely with the state inspector and local LEOs to investigate abandonment, too many animals, neglect, and more. We have been

working with local rescue groups to advance the counties Trap-Neuter-and Return programs.

Kathy Haulk

Animal Control

Rutherford County Animal Control

Monthly Report

Report prepared by Kathy Haulk

Dogs /puppies picked up or surrendered to shelter 87

Cats /kittens picked up or surrendered to shelter 35

Wildlife/other picked up or surrendered to shelter 6

Total number of animals picked up or surrendered 128

Total number of Dogs/Cats ADOPTED from the shelter 26

Total number of Dogs/Cats returned to owners 24

Total number of Dogs/Cats rescued by groups 49

Total number euthanized this month 18

Calls completed this month 374

Hannah Bundy, Horticulture Agent, reporting:

• Combination herb planter class offered to the public

with 13 participants

• 4H mini garden project started- plants sent home

with students; 11 participating

• May Friends of Agriculture breakfast

• MG demo garden work days

• 2019 NC Foothills Farm Tour prep - event is on June

8th from 9-5 (Poster pictured right)

• MG field trip to Bullington gardens

• Grower certification visits for the Rutherford Farmers

Market

• Hydroponic tower project planning with the Ruther-

ford county library

• Regional food system conversations and project

planning

• Agriculture Agent training in Pitt County

The BOE office has begun making Voter IDs! Any registered voter can come by our office and complete a request form, and we will make them a photo identifi-cation card that can be used for voting. (New equipment pictured left.) Preparations have started for the No-vember Municipal elections. Contest in-formation has been entered and proofed to be ready for filing beginning July 5th at noon.

Board of Elections

3

Click here for more information.

County Manager/Commissioners

April included many resourceful and eventful meetings, celebrations, and activities in which the County Manager, Commissioners and staff were involved with the following individuals, depart-ments, boards, and businesses:

• Budget Message and Agenda Preparation for the Board of Commissioners’ Meeting

• County Attorney

• Opioid Forum Implementation

• Planning and Projects

• Trail Construction Update

• Board of Commissioners Meeting

• Community Health Council

• Opioid Forum Implementation

• JCPC Board

• RCED Board Meeting

• Mayfest

• IPDC Legislative Coffee Break

• County Assembly Day in Raleigh

• Mental and Behavioral Health

• Pangaea

• ICC Graduation Ceremony

• Opioid Litigation Update meeting in Charlotte

• EDC

• Budget Workshops

• Chase FFA Chapter Banquet

• Qualified Opportunity Zone Workshop of Western NC in Asheville

• Airport Authority Meeting

• EMS Breakfast

• Senior Center 2019 Volunteer Breakfast

• Broad River Water Authority Board

• Retirement Event for Terry Baynard

Other activities and events this month included Rutherford, Bostic, Ruth, Ellenboro, Forest City, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, and Spindale Town Council meetings, meetings with citizens, numerous calls, interoffice meetings, conference calls, public relations, advising, and preparation for various responsibilities.

County Assembly Day met in Raleigh, NC on May 9, 2019

Photos on page 4

Boards and Commissions

Take a walk or bicycle ride

on the beautiful

Rutherford County

Thermal Belt Rail Trail!

4

County Manager and Commissioners continued from page 3

5

Fire Marshal

6

The HR Director held meetings to discuss personnel issues, exit interviews, and retirements. Addi-

tionally the HR department:

• participated as interviewer for Cleveland County DSS Director

• attended County Commissioners Meeting

• attended Human Resource monthly meeting

• conducted monthly orientation

• attended JCPC monthly meeting

• attended Public Law Updates training in Ashe-

ville (pictured right)

• attended Budget workshops

• met with Keystone regarding electronic time

entry/payroll functions

• conducted interviews for IT Support Specialist

and part-time Library position Positions open:

• Part-time Site Attendant (Senior Center)

• Part-time Exercise Instructor (Senior Center)

• Branch Librarian

• Part-time Van Driver (Transit)

• Social worker I

• Convenience Center Attendant

Apply: www@rutherfordcountync.gov or 289 North Main Street.

Welcome New Employees

Justin Moore (EMS)

Whitney Miller (DSS)

Director Debra Conner’s daughter, Kaila Edwards,

shared exciting news that the adoption for their

daughter, Isla, is official! What a sweet, precious

family (pictured left)!

Human Resources

Finance

Finance Director Paula Roach and family enjoyed hotdogs, popcorn and drinks courtesy of the Forest City Owls during Owls Annual Open House at McNair Field that was held in May. (Picture below from Daily Courier.)

7

Information Technology

Planning and Projects

Aubrey Clay, Rutherford County Project Manager, participating in Leadership Rutherford (pictured

below standing far left in both photos).

PRESS RELEASE Wednesday, May 01, 2019 MEDIA CONTACT: Daily Courier HEADLINE: RUTHERFORD COUNTY ACCEPTING 2019-2020 SUBGRANT APPLICATIONS Rutherford County is now accepting applications for North Carolina Arts Council Grassroots Arts Pro-gram subgrants through June 28, 2019. Application forms and grant guidelines are available on the Rutherford County website at https://www.rutherfordcountync.gov/departments/finance/grassroots_grant.php or may be picked up at the Rutherford County Administration Building Monday – Friday between 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Applications must be received no later than 5:00 pm, June 28, 2019. Since 1977, the North Carolina Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program has provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experiences. Using a per capita based formula, the program provides funding for the arts in all 100 counties of the state through partnerships with local arts councils. Ruth-erford County serves as the North Carolina Arts Council’s partner in awarding subgrants to local organi-zations for arts programs in Rutherford County.

Applications are available for non-profit organizations whose purpose is to promote and develop diverse cultural arts programming in Rutherford County. Funding priority is given to qualified arts organizations (theaters, galleries, choral societies, festivals), arts in education programs conducted by qualified art-ists, and other community organizations that provide arts programs in the county. Grassroots funds are not generally awarded to arts organizations that receive funding through the North Carolina Arts Coun-cil’s State Arts Resources. Projects must occur between July 1, 2019 – May 31, 2020. Grant applications are evaluated and recommended by a diverse panel of community members. Awards are announced in August each year. For questions or more information, contact Maria Davis, 828-287-6118, maria.davis@rutherfordcountync.gov.

Library

Director Jai Doherty and staff continue to so graciously assist county employees and resolve IT

issues. The IT staff do a lot more than just fixing our computers. The daily phone calls, conference

calls, video and web conferences, and less direct communication like

network drives, email systems, and secure servers are a small portion

of their day to day duties. They are responsible for ensuring these sys-

tems remain operational at all times, and the IT staff is vital to our

county departments’ success. A special thank you to the Information

Technology Department for all you do!

From County Staff and Employees

Leadership Rutherford was created for a number of rea-sons, foremost to train and encourage residents to get involved in moving the community forward for the ben-efit of all residents. The primary goal is the betterment of our community. By exploring the many facets of Rutherford County -- from critical issues such as health care and diversity -- the program hopes to reveal the needs for leadership. Leadership Rutherford encourages graduates to step into those positions. Over the past fifteen years, more than 200 county residents have completed the program.

Leadership Rutherford will continue to play a role in the prosperous future of Rutherford County. To learn more, browse our website and drop us a line from the Contact Us page: http://www.leadershiprutherford.com/

8

Register of Deeds

Senior Center

Monthly Activity April 19 - May 24, 2019

Assumed Business Names 25

Certificates of Satisfaction 193

Deeds 386

Deeds of Trust 182

Plats/Surveys 34

Powers of Attorney 62

Various other documents 197

Certified Vital Records Issued 865

Marriage Licenses Issued 46

Notary Public Oaths 23

Senior Center staff tended a booth at the Prime of Life Well-ness Event this month at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. Pictured far left and far right are SHIIP Volunteers, Monica & Amideus Athougies, Middle left to right are Senior Center Program Manager, Barbara Hill and David Maxey.

May is Older Americans Month and the Senior Center had a full month packed with a vast array of activities, fun trips, special speakers, games, and more! We wrapped up our 2019 local Senior Games with the Clos-ing Gala and Athletic Awards Ceremony on May 3. At-tendees were served a delicious dinner while they enjoyed a beautiful video of pictures taken throughout this year’s games. We had 125 seniors who participated in the Games this year, of which 25 were first time participants. A Silent Cake Auction was held the week before Mother’s Day, and we raised a total of $354. There was a nice varie-ty of scrumptious cakes, all donated by seniors, staff, and Co n f e c t i o ne r y Bliss. On the Monday following

Mother’s Day we treated all the senior ladies to “Muffins for Moms” (pictured right).

Fun games were played throughout the month. Pictured to the left is a lively game of “What’s In Your Purse?” Barbara would call out a common item and some “highly unlikely” items that one might find in a ladies purse---and the ladies would look through their purses to see if they had said item. The person with the most items from Barbara’s list won. Judging by the amount of laughter coming from this room, everyone had a fantastic time!

9

The Senior Center continues to grow, and we feed a multi-tude of congregate and home-delivered meal participants every day.

Pictured right are seniors enjoying our gym/exercise room. Over the past several months, we having been making building improvements. The Billiard Room has been relo-cated into what was the old craft room. It has been paint-ed, chair railing added, and new floor tile. A new pool ta-ble was purchased and the existing table was refelted. The new gym and new craft room both are painted, and we are waiting for the new flooring to be put down in the gym/exercise room so we can relocate our current equipment. The room is bigger and located centrally in the Center. We have requested grant monies to purchase additional mus-cle strengthening machines so that seniors are able to get a full body workout. Muscle strengthening activities have been proven to help reduce the risk of falling and improve the ability to perform everyday tasks.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all our wonderful volunteers. On Friday, May 24, we hosted our annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast and had 51 volunteers in attendance. We could not do everything we do for the sen-iors of Rutherford County without the assistance of these outstanding volunteers, and this is just a small to-ken to say how much we appreciate you.

Senior Center continued from page 8

10

Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff's April 2019 Report

Calls for Service 4,347

Warrants Served/Total Arrest 102/101

Domestic Calls 153

Involuntary Commitments/Hours 45/322.33 Man Hours

Civil Papers Served 401

Ex partes Served 12

Evictions 21

Animals Pickup/Surrender 128

Animals Returned to Owners or Rescued 99

Animal Control Calls for Service 374

New Cases Assigned to Detectives/Road Patrol 169/3

Pill Drop Collections 12,648 Doses Units/120 ML

Average Daily Inmate Confinement 190

Gun Purchase Permits Issued 49

Carry Concealed Permits Issued 85

Project Lifesaver Clients/Contact Hours 1/0 Man Hours

Registered Sex Offenders/Contact Hours 208/4.0 Man Hours

Litter Calls/Cases Assigned/Cases Closed 2/0/0

Special Order

Number 4

• Pamela Rigdon to part-time with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in the

Detention Center. Effective 4/11/2019.

• Melissa Carlisle to part-time with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in the

(911) Communication Center. Effective 4/15/2019.

• Hunter Haynes, with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in the Detention

Center, resigned and his resignation is hereby made a matter of record. Ef-

fective 4/04/2019.

• Hunter Haynes, to full-time with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office

(Courthouse Security). Effective 4/08/2019.

11

Sheriff’s Office continued from page 10

Call Summary

Rutherford County Communications

240 N. Washington Street

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

Monthly Report Date: April 2019

Total 911 Calls

Total Admin Calls

Total Calls

3,640

9,954

13,594

911 Communications

12

Social Services

DSS came together to show support for one of our coworkers that was recently

diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma, a type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Tammy Carter works as Quality Control in the Income Maintenance Depart-

ment. We are behind you 100%, Tammy. #KeepFighting #TammyStrong

(pictured above and below)

13

Report for May Customers served: 1773 Loads hauled from convenience center: 254 MSW loads shipped to Lenoir:144 Recycling loads shipped to Conover: 15 Tire customers: 80

The director also attended the following meetings:

• Several vendors

• Rabies Clinic

• Board of Commissioners’

• Open house and retirement drop in

• review of RFQ for landfill expansion

• Odom and Associates

• Staff

The director also worked on reports and budget. A new loader has arrived for transfer station (pictured right). A new water well was installed and wells tested (pictured below). The supervisor attended mandatory RFQ Meeting and quarterly gas readings were done on both properties.

The office staff continue to care for customers, running scales and re-ports, billing and timesheets and finishing grants and working on upcoming grants. The staff at the transfer station has been busy with all the loads that are coming in from trash and recycle, wrapping televisions and setting them aside for pick up. The C&D staff has been working on maintaining the C/D area and moving dirt for cover. The airport staff has been maintaining the grounds. The Shop employees continue to perform routine checks on vehicles.

Solid Waste

Soil and Water

In May, the Resource Conservation Administrator attended the following:

• Cooperative Extension meeting in Shelby

• Home Town Strong

• Department head quarterly meeting

• Meeting with high school group on stream restorations

• NC Soil and Water update

• NCDA compliance workshop

In May, the District Administration and Education Specialist:

• Taught Enviroscape lessons to teach soils and water quality lesson.

• Worked on District Minutes, Meeting Notices and supervisor paperwork.

• Worked on Farmland Preservation paperwork and updates.

• Worked on updating the Districts Strategy plan and education lessons.

14

Tourism Development Authority

15

Tourism Development Authority continued from page 14

16

EMS

This month at Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services we have had several opportunities to help our community with outreach or medical standbys.

• On 4/20, we went to Adaville Baptist Church and had the pleasure to have the kids go through our unit and ask any

questions about EMS that they might have about emergency services.

• On 4/22, Grammy nominee Luke Combs was filming a new music video here in our county and we provided medical

standby for this event.

• On 4/28 Rutherford County EMS along with multiple other agencies all came together to help rehab our firefighters dur-

ing the fire at the American Zinc Plant and to provide standby if anyone would have needed medical attention.

• On 5/11, we were able to provide medical standby for Camp Hooty Whooo. This is the first year for this camp. It is for

juveniles with type 1 diabetes. Please welcome Raven Fite EMT-P and Chris White EMT-P as new full-time employees to the EMS family.

Call volume for April 14, 2019 thru May 11, 2019 are as follows: 911 calls: 573

Non-emergency calls: 50

Transportation Services

EMS thoroughly enjoyed EMS Appreciation Week May 19-25, 2019. Congratulations to Lori Roach for being named Para-medic of the Year (pictured on page 17), and to Paramedics Greg Walker, Marc Horne and Kelsea Greene for being se-lected for the Supervisors Awards (pictured below). We thank all our employees for their hard work and dedication to the Citizens of Rutherford County and EMS. Also, congratulations to Terry Baynard on his retirement (pictured below)!

Transfer/Interfacility/Palliative Care 106

Sick Person 83

Breathing Problem 77

Falls 75

Traffic Accident 65

Chest Pain (Non-Traumatic) 49

Unconscious/Fainting 39

Hemorrhage/Laceration 25

Convulsions/Seizure 22

Diabetic Problem 21

Medical Alarm 18

Stroke/CVA 17

Heart Problems/AICD 16

Cardiac Arrest/Death 15

Abdominal Pain/Problems 11

Traumatic Injury 10

Assault 9

Psychiatric Problem/Abnormal Behavior/Suicide At-tempt

9

Unknown Problem/Person Down 9

Overdose/Poisoning/Ingestion 8

Pregnancy/Childbirth 6

Back Pain (Non-Traumatic) 5

Headache 4

No Other Appropriate Choice 4

Choking 2

Animal Bite 1

Assist Invalid 1

Fire 1

Stab/Gunshot Wound/Penetrating Trauma 1

17

Transportation Services continued from page 16

Transit

From Kerry Giles, Director of Rutherford County Transit

I wanted to share some exciting news regarding Rutherford County Transit’s deviated fixed route, also now called the Tri City Xpress. Back in 2015, we worked with NCDOT to completed a 5-year plan for Rutherford County Transit. In that plan, was an outline to increase ridership on the

deviated fixed route.

This route has been around for many years and travels through the core area of Rutherfordton, Spindale and Forest City. Up until 2015, ridership was pretty steady at around 350 trips per month. In January 2016, Transit received approval from the County Com-missioners and the Transit Advisory Board to go fare-free on this route (the cost to citizens had been $1.00 to

ride). Since 2016, we have seen our ridership grow to an average of 850 trips per month. That is a 143% increase!

However, even as happy as we were with the increased ridership, we knew that if we could shorten the route and travel time for our passengers, we would increase ridership. It took an hour and 45 minutes to complete a full loop. I applaud our Operations Manager, Jeff Hill, who spent countless hours trying to logistically lay out a route that could

be shortened without cutting too many stops.

What he developed, we launched last month as the new Tri City Xpress. There are now two loops. One runs through Forest City and the other through Rutherfordton and Spindale. They have a transfer point at Walmart, as well as at Isothermal Community College and a few other stops in Spindale. We were concerned about passengers getting con-fused if they needed to transfer, but survey information indicated that many who were picked up in Forest City, also

got off in Forest City. The same held true for the route through Rutherfordton and Spindale.

We have only been running these new loops for one month, and for the month of April our ridership shot up to 1550 trips for the month! That is another 82% increase in ridership. We are confident ridership will continue to increase as more citizens become aware of our services. One of the main reasons for adding the three bus shelters in town was

to gain visibility for this route.

Congratulations to Lori

Roach for being named

Paramedic of the Year!

Thank you for providing

excellence and compassion

on every call. Thank you to

our Medical Director,

Dr. Guyton Winker, for

making the presentation

(pictured left).

This month, Terry Baynard

and his dog Zeke, graduat-

ed obedience training.

Zeke and Terry have been

working very hard for the

last few months to achieve

this goal (pictured right).

May’s In-Service training was on self-defense for EMS, and we

were lucky enough to have two fantastic instructors from the

Sheriff’s Office leading the training with great participation from

the staff (pictured below).

18

A new ‘Veterans’ wall has been created at the Veteran’s Office representing all five branches of Ameri-

can military (pictured below).

Veteran Services

Report for May

• Assisted veterans in the past month with claims, benefits, and other services: 170

The Forest City Owls honored all veterans at the home opener on May 27th. Veterans were ad-mitted free and a great time was had by all! Amber Stephens threw the ceremonial first pitch (pictured left).

Thursday, June 20, 2019, and every third Thursday in the month from

9:00 to 10:30 am, a coffee social is provided for veterans. Come out

and enjoy coffee, treats, conversation and a good time!

Donuts provided by Davis Donuts and Food Lion of Rutherfordton, coffee by Burg-

er King and American Legion Post 74, and paper products by DAV Chapter 25.

19

Veteran Services continued from page 18

Director Susan Hall and hus-

band, Melvin, took a recent trip

to Belgium. Included in their ex-

citing sightseeing ventures was a

trip to the church where Susan’s

family crest is displayed. Also,

they visited the Henri-Chappelle

Veterans Cemetery (pictured).

Melvin Hall has two uncles bur-

ied in the Henri-Chappelle Vet-

erans Cemetery, and this was

the first time anyone from their

family had the opportunity to

visit their graves. This was truly

a touching moment.

They also found two other

graves of Rutherford County

natives, who were brothers, who

lost their lives during World War

II (pictured left).

20

Tickets to the

Dirty Dancing Fes-

tival 10th Anniver-

sary Now on Sale

Lake Lure, N.C. (March 1, 2019): Tickets to the 10th anniversary of Lake Lure’s Dirty Dancing Festival on September 13-14, 2019 are now on sa le at www.dirtydancingfestival.com. This two-day celebration of one of the world’s most treasured pop-culture films features a film screening, dance lessons and movie performances by the Asheville Ballet Company, live bands playing soul-filled hits from the 1960s, and a variety of vendors and film-inspired activities. Every year the celebration is punctuated by the hilariously renowned Lake Lift Competition where daring couples test their re-enactment skills of Baby

and Johnny’s iconic water scene. (READ MORE)

Town of Lake Lure

We were deeply saddened at the loss of our honora-ble Mayor Kevin Cooley, who passed away on May 15,

2019. Our thoughts and prayers continue for his wife,

Yvonne, the children, grandchildren and their family.

Mayor Cooley will be profoundly missed by all those

who knew him.

21

22

RUTHERFORD OUTDOOR COALITION

Wilderness First Aid (WFA) Training

June 8-9, 2019

Sign Up Today!

Our survey showed that many of you were interested in a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training. We have partnered with Landmark Learning to bring a WFA training to Rutherford County June 8th and

9th. Sign up today by emailing main@landmarklearning.org or calling 828-293-5384!

WFA is a 2-day, 16-hour training that teaches the prevention, assessment, and treatment of injury

and illness in remote settings.

The training will be held at the Union Mills Learning Center and the cost is $210. Bring a lunch/snacks with you. The Learning Center has WiFi and access to a refrigerator to store food/drinks.

The Town of Rutherfordton celebrated the grand opening of their new

Public Works Building at 230 N. Cleghorn Street on Friday, May 24th. The

town thanks each one of their partners and those who assisted in the

completion of this great building.

23

Join us for the first NC Foothills Farm Tour on June 8th. Farms in both Rutherford and Polk counties are participat-ing and there are farms for all to enjoy. This event is for everyone and is a great way to learn about our local agri-cultural producers and all the amazing things that they

have going on this year.

Tickets and more information can be found here or by checking out our Facebook and Instagram pages

@ncfoothillsfarmtour on either app.

Rutherford County is in need

of volunteer child advocates.

Contact our office at 828-287-3929

if you are interested in helping! Good things come to people who help others! Visit our website at www.volunteerforgal.org

24

Notable Days in May • May 5: Cinco de Mayo

• May 12: Mother’s Day

• May 18: Armed Forces Day

• May 27: Memorial Day

Don’t blink...May just went by!

Celebrate June • June 6: D Day - WWII

• June 14: Flag Day

• June 16: Father’s Day

• June 21: Summer begins

The Factory will be a special place where youth can meet friends, ask questions, share ideas, make things, and pursue their passions. What they make and do will not only reflect their own personal inter-ests, but will also provide connections to future aspirations. Increasingly, jobs in our region are going to reflect a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) based economy. The Factory will pro-vide our children the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills necessary to succeed

in this future work environment.

Ground-breaking ceremony at the FACTORY was held the last of April (pictures below).

25

Rutherford County Community-Wide

Litter Sweep Tripled Collections for

Third Annual Event

Members of Rutherford Outdoor Coalition participate in collection of over seven tons of trash.

Photo credit: Dana Bradley

Rutherford County, NC - May 20, 2019: The Rutherford County Community-Wide Litter Sweep team of more than 650 participants collected over seven tons of trash during its annual community trash col-lection event on April 4-28, nearly matching The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) 2018 yearly total of 11 tons and demonstrating true partnership in the state’s waste management ef-

forts.

Don Cason, Executive Director for RCTDA, is passionate about regaining our sense of pride across the county and educating citizens. Cason noted, “It is exciting to see the amount of volunteerism and ef-forts made to make our Trash Pick-up a success. It is my prayer that in the near future we won’t need volunteers because as a community we are working together and not littering our beautiful county.”

The next pick up date is already scheduled for October 10-13, 2019.

"Keep Rutherford County Beautiful" committee members with Roxi at the supply pick-up location in

Rutherfordton. (Left to Right) George Moyer, Brad Teague, Mariam Moyer, Dana Bradley, James Kilgo,

Roxi the Raccoon, Clark Poole, Jenna Bailey, Karen Tegen

26

Inmates earn diplomas at Rutherford Correctional Center

Six inmates at the Rutherford Correctional Cen-ter reached a milestone recently when they earned their high school diplomas from Isother-mal Community College recently. The College and Career Readiness program al-lows the inmates to complete their high school studies while detained. The aim is to provide a constructive educational experience for the in-mates in hope that they will continue on a posi-tive path when released.

The 2018 graduates were Donald R. Taylor, Travis B. Furr, and Dominique J. Garrett, Joseph P. Hogan, George D. Bolen, and Donavan L. Chavis. (Read More)

27

WeBuild! Day Camp for girls rising 4th through rising 7th grades, teaching how to

use simple power tools.

Sponsored by: Women Roofers

When: July 29 to August 2, 2019, 8:00 am to noon

Where: On the campus of Isothermal Community College

Cost: $95 is the early bird cost if paid by July 12, but scholarships are availa-

ble: www.WeBuildCamp.com. Email associate@RutherfordHousingPartnership.com.

To learn more, click on the following link: ttp://www.webuildcamp.com/?

fbclid=IwAR0SrjhIkQgTtszahQIDZ1ezHHotLRmFuvJutSKLwRMN39DayEliKpocOA

28

Ribbon Cutting for Spindale Waste Water Treatment Facility

held on May 22, 2019.

The Waste Water Treatment project was initiated following an asset management study done in 2012 by SDG Engineering. The plant’s rehabilitation involved dividing its original basin in half, creating an equalization basin on the west side and two ‘treatment trains’ in the east. Each train is capable of processing 1.5 MGD. Spindale pro-

duces an average of 650,000 gallons of wastewater each day, so only one of those trains will be used on a regular basis. “There’s a lot of capacity here for western Rutherford County and there’s room to grow,” said Engineer Kurt

Wright, who was responsible for planning, funding, design, contract administration and construction observation.

29

County Manager Steve Garrison

Rutherford County informationrutherford@rutherfordcountync.gov

289 N. Main Street Rutherfordton, NC 28139

County Commissioners Bryan A. King, Chairman Alan Toney, Vice Chairman Michael Benfield, Commissioner Eddie Holland, Commissioner Greg Lovelace, Commissioner

County Office Hazel Haynes, Clerk to Board

Kim Aldridge, Deputy Clerk Richard Williams, County Attorney

Grassroots Grant

Since 1977, the N. C. Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program has

provided North Carolina citizens access to quality arts experienc-

es. The program distributes funds for the arts in all 100 counties of the state primarily through partnerships with local arts coun-cils. Rutherford County serves as the N.C. Arts Council’s partner in awarding subgrants to local organizations for arts programs in

Rutherford County.

Eligibility for Application

• All organizations must have been in operation for at least one

year. While nonprofit 501(C)(3) status is preferred, organiza-tions that are nonprofit in nature may also apply.

(Recommended, but not required.)

• All organizations must reside and carry out projects within Rutherford County.

• Organizations (State Arts Resources, Outreach-Sustaining, and Statewide Services) that

receive general operating support directly from the N. C. Arts Council must get written approval from N.C. Arts Council staff before applying for Grassroots funds. (Under some

circumstances, exceptions can be made.)

• Individuals are not eligible to apply for Grassroots Arts funds.

• Applications and support materials must be completed and received by the due date.

Click Here for more information.

CONSUMER ALERT

Be careful about sharing DMV information or paying fees through third-party websites.

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is warning consumers who are try-ing to process common DMV-related renewals and registrations online to be aware of websites that charge consumers unnecessary fees and may not be safeguarding their

online data.

Third-party websites are popping up online that ask consumers to share personal infor-mation or pay fees to process vehicle, driver license, and license plate renewals and

registrations. These websites will often show up if you search for common DMV services online, and they’ll often appear before the official DMV website in a list of search re-

sults. These are not State-operated websites.

These websites assist you in renewing a license plate or driver license or completing any of the other above services through a third party, but they will include an unneces-sary fee at the end of the process. Additionally, the information shared during driver services is often personal data that should be stored securely. There’s no way to con-

firm that these websites are keeping your information confidential.

If you’re looking to complete vehicle and driver license renewals and registrations

online, you can do so directly through the NC DMV website at www.ncdot.gov/dmv.

If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam in the process of trying to com-

plete these services, you can file a consumer complaint with our office’s Consumer Pro-

tection Division at ncdoj.gov/complaint or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.