Jamestown news 3 2 16

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WEDNESDAY

March 2, 2016

Two Sections –­­ 20 Pages vINDEX

Calendar A2 School/Lifestyles A6-7 A5 Classifieds B2-11 Service Guide B1 Features A3 Sports B11 Here & There A5 Diversions

Just Joey, performs feats of fire, magic and more but is a clown at heart.

v HOW TO REACH US

See story, page A3

Vol. 38 No. 11

©2016­WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC.

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Fire department calls hit record number in 2015 By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer As everyone is aware, no one knows when or where a fire will occur or when response is needed from the fire department. That was the case on Feb. 16 for PinecroftSedgefield Fire Chief Steve Allred. Allred was scheduled to present the department’s annual report to the Jamestown Town Council but instead was responding to a gas leak during the time of the meeting. In his place, Assistant Fire Chief Tommy Cole gave the report, assisted by Capt. Brandon Cobb of Jamestown’s Station 46. At last year’s Council meeting, Allred said that he believed 2015 would match the previous high of 2,800 set in 2014. He was wrong. “PSFD responded to almost 3,000 (2,959) calls last year,” said Cole. That figure was up 159 from the previous year. Of that number, 1,659 were medical incidents, 620 were fire-related, 336 were motor vehicle accidents and 355 were service or good intent incidents. “(Jamestown) is our third busiest station of our five stations,” Cole said. “It represents about a quarter of the total call volume.” The Jamestown’s station alone responded to 677 calls in 2015, falling in the middle of PSFD’s five stations for the second year in a row. This number was up 27 calls from 2014. Of those calls, the 478 medical incidents greatly outnumbered any other calls, typical of most departments. Cole said “a lot of those calls” were to Shannon Gray Rehabilitation and Recovery Center. Fire-related incidents for Jamestown were 137, motor vehicle accidents 28 and service/good intent incidents were 34. The department keeps records of how much property value was at risk as well has how much was saved each year. “It was not a good year,” Cole said. “We

Wind damages historic house hesitated to put this in (the report) this year.” Department-wide, $3,390,677 worth of property was exposed to fire in the past year. “We usually look at less than one percent, or just above, of annual loss,” Cole said. “This year we had two major fires and one very significant fire that made up over a million-dollar loss in our district.” The actual district-wide figure was 53.53 percent (or $1,815,077) district wide. The high percentage ran the five-year average to 3.17 percent. Cole pointed out fires on Brambletye in Sedgefield and on Pearce Drive in Whittington Hall in Jamestown accounted for much of the loss. Station 46 was only able to save 32.6 percent of the property exposed to fire in 2015. Responding to calls is not the only duty of the Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department. Fire prevention and education is important. The department held 124 programs in their district, attended by 7,955 children and adults. Of that number, 2,938 attended some or all of the 48 proSee FIRE, page A3

Smith working toward manager certification By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer Jamestown Town Manager Chuck Smith has become a candidate for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)’s Credentialed Manager Candidate designation. “I am a candidate for two years, then will become a credentialed manager once annual assessments are completed,” Smith said. “I look forward to challenging myself to continually improve my professional ability and to develop management techniques to raise the competence of other professional manager associates. I hope to one day be a mentor to other managers,

CHUCK SMITH just as other managers have been a mentor to me.” Smith is one of over 1,300 local government management professionals who are participating in the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program. To be credentialed by ICMA, a member must have significant experience as a senior management executive in local government, have earned a degree – preferably in public administration or a related field – and demonstrated a commitment to high standards of integrity and to lifelong learning and professional development. The Credentialing Program is based on the ICMA Practices for Effective

Local Government Management. Those practices include leadership and coaching, policy facilitation, quality assurance, risk taking and vision, democratic advocacy and citizen participation, budgeting, media relations and planning. Smith joined the Town of Jamestown in 2007 as public works director and was named assistant town manager later that year. He took over the town manager position in 2010. Once the program is completed, he will become an ICMA Credentialed Manager in October 2017. “Professional growth has always been an objective for me, however, the IMCA credentialed program has helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses as a manager,” Smith said. “I have a professional development plan in place to improve areas that require professional improvement while also broadening my knowledge in the areas (where) I excel.” Carol Brooks can be reached at 336-841-4933 or jamestownnews@north state.net.

(Photo/Carol Brooks)

The heavy winds on Feb. 24-25 did not bring the tornados many feared would come to Jamestown. Damage was rather light, but portions of the roof at the Madison Lindsay House, at the Mendenhall Homeplace site, were lifted up. The roof was just replaced in June of 2015.

P&R to discuss trees, mission and vision By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will continue its discussion of the town’s proposed Mission and Vision statements at its March meeting. Carrie Spencer, town planner, presented a proposal in February that the town conduct a tree inventory similar to what has been done in High Point. Although it seems like a multi-year task to identify the town’s trees by species and condition, with volunteer help it could be accomplished in a matter of months. Only property owned by the Town of Jamestown would be inventoried – Main Street, Jamestown and Wrenn Miller parks, Town Hall complex, entrance signs and the Public Library.

Once completed, a maintenance plan would be formulated and could include replanting trees when an existing one comes down. The Town needs to apply for a 50/50 matching grant from the Urban Forest Council by March 31 for this project. The Town’s match would not have to be financial, but in-kind labor and staff time would qualify. At the March P&R meeting, Spencer will request the committee approve the application for the grant for the inventory. The Parks and Recreation Committee will meet March 7 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. The public is invited to attend.

Carol Brooks can be reached at 336841-4933 or jamestownnews@northstate. net.

Nominees sought for preservation award By CAROL BROOKS Staff Writer Do you know someone who has contributed to the history of Jamestown? Nominate that person for the Mary A. Browning Historic Preservation Award. This marks the third year the award has been presented by the Historic Jamestown Society. Last year’s awards went to Florence White Allen and to the Jamestown Veterans Committee. Eligibility rules are simple: Candidates are not required to be Jamestown citizens and nominations for posthumous awards will be considered. The contributions of all nominees must be directly related to the preservation, interpretation or research of Jamestown history. Nomination forms, which provide all the criteria, may be obtained at the James-

town Town Hall, Jamestown Public Library, Mendenhall Homeplace or at various business locations throughout the community. The form can also be found online at the Mendenhall Homeplace and Jamestown Business Association websites, www.mendenhall homeplace.com or www. jamestownbusinessassocia tion.org. Mail your nomination to: Historic Jamestown Society P.O. Box 512 Jamestown, NC 27282, or email it to director@ mendenhallhomeplace. com. You can even drop it off at the Mendenhall Homeplace at 603 W. Main St. The deadline is April 29. The award ceremony will be held May 22. If you have any questions, contact Shawn Rogers at 336-454-3819, or director@mendenhall homeplace.com.

Full details are available at www.mendenhallhome place.com. The award honors wellknown local historian and genealogist Mary Browning. She has used census records and the National Archives as well as research in the Friends Historical Collection at Guilford College, local libraries and newspaper archives to compile her ever-expanding notes on the area. Browning has almost single-handedly undertaken the responsibility of documenting the town’s history in five books, multiple newspaper articles as well as video. As a professional genealogist, she also uses her knowledge to help families research their roots.

Carol Brooks can be reached at 336-841-4933 or jamestownnews@north state.net.

Email us at jamestownnews@northstate.net.


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