Faison appoints new town clerk
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on February 2, 2006 1:45 PM
FAISON --The Faison Town Board appointed Michelle Lance town clerk Wednesday night. She replaces Christian Higgins, who left after two years with the town. The board will advertise for an assistant town clerk.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to buy new Christmas decorations for about $4,000.
Town commissioner Lisa Patterson said some residents had complained about the old decorations.
"People tell me the ones we have look really bad, and they would rather have none than what we had last year," she said.
Board members said the town would salvage any decorations worth keeping. The new decorations will be ordered immediately and should arrive by late summer, board members said.
The board also agreed to donate up to $350 to the Faison Improvement Group for town beautification projects. The organization's beautification committee chairman, Carolyn Kenyon, told the board the group will match any amount of money the town provides. She asked the board for an annual appropriation for beautification projects. She also asked that the three beautification groups in town -- FIG, the Faison Garden Club and the town board's Beautification Committee -- coordinate projects to prevent duplication of efforts.
Ms. Heckman invited Ms. Kenyon to speak at the next meeting of her group on Feb. 9 at the Southern Belle restaurant in Mount Olive. She said her group is trying to get trees to plant at the town's park.
Commissioner Jane Hollingsworth suggested the groups sponsor a joint project to buy trees for property owners who want to improve the appearance of their yards.
The board also:
*Agreed to hire Tarheel Paving and Grading to perform paving work for about $38,000 and Brock Backhoe to perform sidewalk improvements for about $5,000.
*Voted to give the North Duplin Dixie Youth League $1,500 for improvements at its ball field. Ralph Britt told the board the team's 75 players have their home games at Faison and play in a league with Mount Olive. He said they have until the end of May to get the field ready. "The program is growing, and it's in better financial standing than it had been in years," Britt said. He said the program has received a state grant of up to $3,000 to help with improvements. He said Duplin County has agreed to help with the local matching funds and asked the commissioners if they would chip in some money as well.