Public Notices

BURGAW – Pender County Emergency Management recently announced the hiring of Mark Haraway as Fire Marshal.

A native of Danville, Virginia, Haraway is no stranger to Southeastern North Carolina where he has served as a firefighter, training officer, deputy fire marshal, special operations coordinator, fire chief, deputy fire chief, and now fire marshal.

He started his public service career in May 1979 as a teenager.

“My entire family was involved in public safety.  My grandfather was a police officer for 32 years, my dad was in the volunteer rescue squad and a career firefighter for 37 years, my uncle was a career firefighter, so it was kind of like the family business,” said Haraway. “I started in the volunteer rescue squad at age 16, was a Red Cross CPR and First Aid instructor at 16, joined the volunteer fire department at 18, and have been in the fire service ever since.”

Haraway’s experience has impacted several state-appointed boards, including Hazardous Materials Regulatory Control, North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) Rescue Development program, NCDOI Universal Commercial Code (UCC) Training Group, North Carolina Emergency Management Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS) Development Committee, and the North Carolina Emergency Management All-Hazard Incident Management Team (AHIMT) Development Committee.

“I retired in 2014 and moved to Tennessee, where I continued to work as Deputy Fire Marshal for Sevier and Knox Counties, then as the Deputy Fire Chief for the 134th Aire Refueling Wing for the Air National Guard,” said Haraway.

The strong draw of family pulled him away from retirement and Tennessee, he said.

“My wife and I decided we wanted to move back ‘home’ to North Carolina to be closer to our son and grandkids. Pender County is a place we are familiar with and wanted to come back to,” Haraway stated.

“Mark has influenced many young firefighters and EMTs through his training,” said Tommy Batson, Pender County Emergency Director. “Mark is a published author of a teaching text, Large Scale Incident Management. We are very pleased to have him on staff in Pender County.”

Haraway said in his “free time” he enjoys teaching fire science and Incident Command System (ICS) classes.

“I especially enjoy spending time with my grandkids and working in my woodshop,” Haraway added.

HAMPSTEAD – Beginning Dec. 7, Pender County residents can register to vote and the many other services provided by the Pender County Board of Elections.

“Board of Elections staff will be available at the Hampstead Annex every Tuesday and Thursday starting Dec. 7 in Suite 116,” Susan Williams, Pender County Board of Elections director, said.

“Our Hours will be from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.,” added Williams.

From the Hampstead Annex, the Pender County Board of Elections will offer voter registration forms, candidate filing, campaign finance assistance, absentee requests, and information requests.

The Hampstead Annex is located at 15060 US Hwy 17.

For voter and candidate information, call the Pender County Board of Elections at 910-259-1220.

BURGAW- Pender County Fire Marshal’s Office issued a Burning Ban effective Tuesday, Nov. 30, beginning at 8 a.m. This is a result of extreme dry conditions across the area.

“The area has received little, to no rainfall in the past few weeks. Additionally, the forecast has with no foreseeable significant rain in sight.” Tommy Batson, Pender County Emergency Director.

During the past few months with little rain and large amounts of dry leaf litter, the fire threat is growing. Weather patterns are forecasted to be dry with low humidity across southeastern North Carolina. This weather pattern will continue for some time.

The citizens of Pender County are urged to do everything possible to minimize the risk of fire during this period.

This restriction shall extend outward from all residential structures 100 feet. This proclamation does not prohibit outdoor charcoal or gas grills provided precautions are taken to prevent fire from escaping those appliances.

PENDER COUNTY – All the Pender County Trash and Recycling Convenience Sites and the Transfer Station will close early on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25.

All convenience site locations will resume normal operating hours Friday, Nov. 26, starting at 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

The transfer station will reopen Friday, Nov. 26, and Saturday, Nov. 27, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For a complete listing of convenience centers go to https://pendercountync.gov/sw/convenience-centers where addresses and maps are available.

Pender County government offices will close for the holidays beginning Wednesday, Nov. 24 through Friday, Nov. 26. Government offices will resume normal working hours on Monday, Nov. 29.

Here’s a reminder from our health department for Thanksgiving cooking safety.

In the Nov. 15 meeting of the Pender County Board of Commissioners, the board unanimously adopted the Pender County Digital Inclusion Plan.

The Digital Inclusion Plan will make Pender County eligible for the maximum amount of broadband expansion funding – funding that could pay for construction to bring internet access to practically every citizen of the County without access.

To learn more about the place, click here.

In the Nov. 15 meeting of the Pender County Board of Commissioners, the board unanimously adopted the Pender County Digital Inclusion Plan.

The Digital Inclusion Plan will make Pender County eligible for the maximum amount of broadband expansion funding – funding that could pay for construction to bring internet access to practically every citizen of the County without access.

To learn more about the place, click here.