highlight of departmental activities · • pj masks cat craft, monday, april 30th @ 3:30pm •...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Weekly Report showcases the activities and accomplishments of the many Departments
within Rutherford County Government. Click on the directory lists, headings and text in blue to be linked to more information.
Department Directory
Agriculture/Cooperative Extension
Airport
Board of Elections
Building Inspections
County Manager
County Commissioners
Economic Development
Emergency Medical Services
Fire Marshal
Finance
Human Resources
Information Technology
Library
Public Works and Planning
Register of Deeds
Revenue
Senior Center
Social Services
Soil and Water
Solid Waste
Transit
Tourism Development Authority
Veteran Services
Weekly Report
Highlight of Departmental Activities
April 30, 2018
Animal Control
Animal Control Weekly Update
Total animals taken in
30
Animals adopted into forever homes
4
Animals sent to rescued groups to be vetted and adopted into forever homes
23
Animals returned to owners
1
Calls completed
101
Animal Control staff received training from Asheville Chapter of Brother Wolf on aggressive dog handling.
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Animal Control continued from page 1
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Board of Elections Director and staff: • processed absentee by mail requests and returned ballots. Absentee by mail requests must be received
by our office no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 1, 2018. • averaged 160 voters per day at early voting. • prepared supplies for the polling places. The Director attended the quarterly Department Head meeting, attended Pictometry training, and a board meeting was held.
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911 Communications Center
Call Summary Rutherford County Communications
240 N. Washington Street Rutherfordton, NC 28139
Report Date: 04/15/2018 to 04/21/2018
Total 911 Calls
Total Admin Calls
Total Calls
881
2,407
3,288
Congratulations to Telecommu-nicators Carrie McBrayer and Laurel Messer for successfully com-pleting a Post Critical Incident Semi-nar (PCIS), sponsored by the North Car-olina Law Enforcement Assistance Pro-gram (NCLEAP). This vital training is patterned on a format that has been used by the FBI for over 25 years. PCIS pro-vides education on trauma, patterns of resolution, and field-tested strategies that promote recovery and resilience. We look forward to learning from these Tel-ecommunicators as they help us promote Peer Support across all emergency ser-vices.
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County Manager and Commissioners
Listed are several events, meetings, and activities in which the County Manager, Commissioners and staff were involved with the following individuals, departments and businesses: • Planning and Projects • Rail Trail • Board of Education budget meeting • ICC budget meeting • Budget preparation • Finance Department • Broad River Water Association Board • Department Head Quarterly Meeting (See pictures on pages 7-9.) • County Attorney • Solid Waste • TJCA Lutz Foundation Scholarship Interviews • Budget preparation • Spindale 2018 Hill Climb • Pick It Up RoCo Celebration (See pictures on page 6 from Pick It Up RoCo event last weekend.) Other activities and events this week included meetings with citizens, numerous calls, interoffice meet-ings, conference calls, public relations, advising, and preparation for various responsibilities.
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County Manager and Commissioners continued from page 5
ABOVE PHOTO, from left to right: Jamie and Holly Keever, Tonya Garrison, Jeanette and Ed Bosgra, and Commissioner Bryan King.
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County Manager and Commissioners continued from pages 5-6
County Department Heads enjoyed a presentation by Lync McDaniel with Leadership Rutherford, and gained a broader understanding of Gap Billing from Director Sherry Lavender, Rutherford County Revenue Department. Also, the “Getting to Know You Better” icebreaker featured Sheriff Chris Fran-cis this quarter, including conversation with the County Manager, learning more about the Sheriff’s interest, experiences, memories, family, etc. The results were humorous, interesting and fascinating! (Pictures below and on pages 8-9.)
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County Manager and Commissioners continued from pages 5-7
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County Manager and Commissioners continued from pages 5-8
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Human Resources
Fire Marshal/Emergency Management
Finance Department
The Finance Office processed accounts payable. Several interdepartmental and budget meetings were at-tended by director and staff.
Fire Marshal and staff: • attended the WEG stakeholders meeting at Tryon Equestrian Center. • attended County Department Head meeting. • participated in Pictometry training. • worked on contracts for services to include communications tower and mass notification. • participated in firearms training. • provided equipment to Polk County for weekend events.
The HR Director held meetings to discuss personnel issues, exit interviews, and retirements. The Director attended the quarterly Department Head meeting. Welcome new hires: • Debbie Wood (DSS) • Casey Ponce (DSS) • Madison Folk (DSS) • Twyla Hardy (DSS) • Cynthia Calhoun (911) • Linda Roper (Transit) • Donna Feinster (Transit) • Paul Gee (Transit) • Mike Mosca (EMS) Employees who have left the service of Rutherford County are Amanda McClay (Library), Brittany Twitty (DSS), John Masey (Transit), Caleb Cope (Detention), and Jeremy Keever (Solid Waste).
REMINDER • County Blood Drive is May 9th (slots still available)
• Wellness Fair is May 17th
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Human Resources continued from page 10
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Human Resources continued from pages 10-11
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Human Resources continued from pages 10-12
Pictured left to right: Debra Conner, Rutherford County Human Resources Director, Cherie Berry, NC Commissioner of Labor, and Brooke Watson, Rutherford County HR Specialist
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Information Technology
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Library
New Books New DVDs
Shattered Mirror by Iris Johansen Twisted Prey by John Sandford To the Edges of the Earth by Edward J. Larson The Geraldo Show by Geraldo Rivera Circe by Madeline Miller Jilly’s Terrible Temper Tantrums and How She Outgrew Them by Martha Heine-man Pieper Peek-a-Flap Zoo by Jaye Garnett Lies that Comfort and Betray by Rosemary Simpson The King’s General by Daphne du Maurier Eternal Life by Dara Horn Macbeth by Jo Nesbo If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin The Hunger by Alma Katsu Southern Splendor by Marc R. Matrana Twenty First Century Jim Crow Schools by Raynard Sanders Fundamentalist U by Adam Laats
The Samaritan The Game Plan Hero New Nightmare Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Erika Woody (Haynes Branch)
What’s Been Going On: • Hung up posters advertising Free Comic Book Day • Set out bookmarks and postcards advertising Free Comic Book Day • Created May’s iSpy • Created the scavenger hunt for next month • Selected Baker & Taylor items to lease • Took down the juvenile books on display and replaced them with oth-
ers • Moved some juvenile DVDs to the juvenile non-fiction DVD section • Maintenance replaced a light above the circulation desk (thanks Terry
and Joey!) • Reached out to the Cooperative Extension for the possibility of two
summer programs • Hung up event flyers at the Caroleen post office • Attended the Board of Trustees meeting • Made pipe cleaner geckos (pictured right) What’s Coming Up: • National Superhero Day, Saturday, April 28th- come dressed as your favorite superhero and receive a
prize • PJ Masks Cat Craft, Monday, April 30th @ 3:30pm • Spring is in the Air- thru Monday, April 30th • Movie- Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Friday May 4th @ 3pm • Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 5th from 10am-1pm • Cinco de Mayo Maracas craft, Saturday, May 5th @ 11am • Mother’s Day Flowers, Monday, May 7th @ 3:45pm • Scavenger Hunt, Thursday, May 24th @ 3:45pm • iSpy- all month long • Story Time- Tuesday’s @ 10:30am • Build It Club, Tuesday’s @ 3:30pm • I Love My Mom Because…, beginning Tuesday, May 1st
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Library continued from page 15
Maria Davis (County) Maria has been working on coming up with ideas for June programming for County Library. Maria has also been working on Adult Summer Reading Program and hopes to have many participants this year. Ad-vertising for both Adult Summer Reading and Children and Teen Summer Reading Program will hopefully be ready for distribution very soon. Remember…if you have any ideas of programming you would like to see at the Library, please do not hesitate to contact Maria at [email protected]. Kenneth Odom (County) Kenneth attended the Rutherford County Library Board of Trustees meeting this week. He has also spent time perfecting some of the items for Maker Camp. Stephanie Long (County) Circulation Manager completed the following duties this week: • processed many more books that were ordered as replacements and additions to the collection that was
damaged by the water leak. • selected 20 titles for lease from the May Baker & Taylor Quick Call list. • sat in on interviews for the part-time front-desk position. • attended the Department Head quarterly meeting as library representative. Tamara Edwards (County) • This week was Teddy Bear week. I had preschool story time at each of our three branches. I also hosted
a teddy bear pajama party at the Rutherford County Library. Kids brought their favorite teddy bears and blankets and we snuggled in for bedtime stories and snacks before heading home to bed.
• I made plans for a “kite” themed story time for next week. • I worked on plans for celebrating National Super Hero Day at the library on Saturday April 28.
Mountains Branch Library, 150 Bill’s Creek Road, Lake Lure, NC 828.287.6392
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Library continued from pages 15-16
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Library continued from pages 15-17
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Library continued from pages 15-18
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Register of Deeds The Register of Deeds office works with the public everyday and continues to give prompt, courteous and accurate service.
Transaction Group
Totals
Certified Vital Records
185
Marriage Licenses
7
Recorded Deeds
62
Recorded Deeds of Trust
32
Recorded Certificates of Satisfaction
39
Recorded Various Other Documents
57
Oath Given to Notary Publics
7
Recorded Plats/Surveys
11
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Register of Deeds continued from page 20
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Sheriff’s Office
Mark your calendars for our 6th annual Relay for Life Shooting Tournament on Saturday, May 19th. We are in need of more volunteers. Please let us know if you can help any part of the event 9 am to 1 pm. This event is our biggest fundraiser and lots of fun too! DESSERT DONATIONS ARE NEEDED! If you will be there to help you can bring desserts with you; otherwise, drop off at the Finance Office on Friday, May 18th. Brownies, cookies, anything easy to package is appreciated, and if you can wrap or bag them prior to dropping them off, that would be great! Thanks in advance for your help! Contact Jeanette Bosgra, 828.287.6211, for further information. County Employees Relay for Life Team
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Social Services
Dena Guffey, Social Worker in Family and Children’s Services, will complete her Masters in Social Work in May from East Tennessee State University. This semes-ter, she completed an in-ternship in our the agency in addition to her regular work. Dena works with the LINKS Program and Adoptions. LINKS is a program for older chil-dren in foster care that teaches independent liv-ing skills, promotes edu-cation and provides so-cial support through monthly meetings with guest speakers and vari-ous trips throughout the
year. In addition, LINKS can provide financial assistance to eligible youth for many reasons to help them reach their goal toward further education and inde-pendence. Dena is also the advisor and mentor for the SAYSO (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out) Chapter in Ruther-ford County. SAYSO is a statewide as-sociation of youth aged 14 to 24 who are or have been in the out-of-home care sys-tem that is based in North Carolina (pictured above). DSS’ newest Board member, David Herndon, took the oath of office at the Board meeting last Wednesday. He will complete the term of Michael Southers, who resigned from the Board in Febru-ary. David is the Director of the local office of NC Vocational Rehabilitation in Forest City. We look forward to working with him and benefiting from his experi-ence and knowledge (pictured left).
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March is National Social Worker Appreciation Month. The 2018 theme for the month is Social Workers…leaders. advocates. champions. Throughout the month, supervisors treated staff to some special activities including some delicious food. We have a great staff of dedicated, compassionate social workers that meet the challenges facing families in Rutherford County head on each and every day. We thank them for their service to Rutherford County DSS and to our community (pictured below).
Social Services continued from page 23
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Soil & Water
Solid Waste
Customers served
392
Loads hauled from Centers
67
MSW loads to Lenoir
40
Recycling loads to Conover
2
Tire customers
17
Director James Kilgo: • attended quarterly Department Head meeting. • worked on budget and reports. • attended Pictometry training at ICC. Tony Bumgarner and Eddie Motte: • attended Leadership 360 Training. • met with vendors. Office staff was busy taking care of customers, running reports and helping where needed. The staff at the transfer station has been busy processing MSW with extra trash that has been coming in, recycling tonnages, and stacking and wrapping electronics. Shop staff continues to perform mainte-nance on equipment and vehicles. C&D staff have been busy processing C&D tonnages coming in while hauling dirt for daily cover. The airport staff continue the grass and grounds maintenance. Please continue to recycle.
The District Administration and Education Specialist worked on: • District meeting minutes and Supervisor Travel. • Farmland Brochure and program update paperwork. • Education lessons and information for Enviroscape classroom visit.
The Resource Conservation Administrator spent the week: • attended the quarterly Department Head meeting . • attended the GIS training. • worked on designs for Ag Cost Share plans. • answered technical assistance questions from public .
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Tourism Development Authority
Visit our website for a full list of events and times at: timeofyourlifenc.com or call our Welcome Center at 828.287.6113. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact Taylor Hardin, Admin-istrative Assistant for the TDA at 828-287-6013 or by email at [email protected]. If you need to pick up travel guides for your business or you would like to be added to the newsletter dis-tribution list, please contact Project Manager Karen Tegen at 828-287-6130 or by email at [email protected].
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Transportation Services
EMS: Congratulations to Captain Amanda Watson for becoming a Certified Ambulance Privacy Officer and Cer-tified Documentation Specialist (pictured below). Amanda and Director Giles also attended the annual EMS billing compliance training this week. Please keep our Training Officer Carl McKnight in your prayers as he is back to work after having a heart attack. Our prayers are also with Shift Supervisor Jennifer Mooney as her dad had a major stroke this past week and is at Mission in ICU recovering. We welcome aboard full time paramedic Mark Mosca. EMS continues to plan for National EMS Week ac-tivities to honor our employees. This week call volume as follows :
TYPE
CURRENT WEEK
Emergency Calls
152
Non-Emergency Calls
28
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Transit: Director Giles and Operations Manager Hill attended the annual NC Public Transportation Association conference this week. Congratulations to Director Giles for being re-elected to the Association’s Board of Directors. Transit also launched two new services this week offering transportation to work and to the grocery store. We’ve had a strong response from the community desiring these services. Transit is also excited to have received over 1,000 likes and followers on our department Facebook page (pictured on page 29).
TYPE
CURRENT
WEEK
WEEKLY AVG
Total Miles
8,784
9,196
Local Trips
1,248
1,125
Out of County Trips
66
88
Unduplicated Passengers
206
214
Total Revenue
$17,066
$20,026
Transportation Services continued from page 27
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Transportation Services continued from pages 27-28
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Veteran Services
Report for this week: Assisted veterans in the past week with claims, benefits, and other services: 81
Faxes sent for veteran claims, pension, compensation and records: 84
A great group of veterans attended the Coffee & Con-versation event. April Hicks from Willow Ridge did a great job speaking (pictured left and below).
One of our dear veterans donated a WWII statue to the VSO (pictured left). Resa Thompson passed the NC Accreditation test, becoming a certified County Veteran Ser-vice Officer. Congrat-ulations, Resa!
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May 12, 2018 Summey Park (FC-Dunbar track)
9:00 -10:00 (More scheduled walks will continue throughout 2018-2019.)
We will move our walks to the Rail Trail as soon as it is available. We appreciate the Town of Forest City providing Summey Park as a perfectly nice back up venue in the meantime. We invite you to join us on the walks. No pre-registration is required. We would love to see your smiling faces each month as we and our local physicians work to make Rutherford County a healthier place to live!
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GET YOUR KIDS OUTSIDE THIS SUMMER! Camp Muddy Sneakers is a nature day camp for rising 1st - 7th graders, and will be held in Rutherford County on July 9th - July 13th! Don't miss out on this opportunity for your kids to enjoy this fun and educational day camp! Our Outdoor Programs Director, Dana Bradley, will be one of the camp instructors. Camp runs from 9 am until 4 pm each day. Campers will need to be dropped off at Isothermal Commu-nity College (ICC) in Spindale between 8:45 am and 9:00 am each day. Nature Explorers (1st - 3rd graders) will explore the ICC trail system at the college. Each day will have a different theme and campers will enjoy games, art activities, nature play, and more! The trail system at ICC was built by ROC members and offers a safe and beautiful learning environment. Trail Blazers (4th - 7th graders) will explore the trail system at ICC, as well as other local trails, while learning about nature. Each day will have a different theme and campers will enjoy activities based on the topic of the day, par-ticipate in active trail/field games, and will have fun exploring our local trails in Rutherford County. The cost for the week of camp is $299. Some scholarships are available.
For more info or to sign up, visit www.CampMuddySneakers.org.
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County Commissioners County Office
Bryan A. King, Chairman Alan Toney, Vice Chairman Hazel Haynes, Clerk to Board
Michael Benfield, Eddie Holland, Greg Lovelace Richard Williams, County Attorney
Follow us online! www.rutherfordcountync.gov
County Manager Steve Garrison
Kimberly Aldridge, Weekly Report Editor 828.287.6060
Sunday 5/6: • ROC Paris Mountain State Park Hike: 8 am at Rutherford County Office Building, 289 N
Main Street, Rutherfordton. Contact ROC to RSVP. Saturday 5/12: • ROC Broad River Spring Sweep: 10 am on multiple sections of river. See Facebook Page or
contact ROC for more details. Tuesday 5/29: • ROC and Conserving Park Invasive Species Workday: 10 am -2 pm at Buffalo Creek Park,
Lake Lure. Contact ROC to RSVP. Email us at [email protected] or call (828) 351-3235 if you would like to sign up for any of the ROC workdays, clean-ups, or group hikes/river floats. .