Most water district incumbents keep their board seats
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on November 8, 2007 1:46 PM
Nearly forgotten in the fray of the six municipal elections Tuesday were the four sanitary districts also selecting new board members.
Featuring mostly incumbents, the four boards have received a little more attention than usual this year as Wayne County and the rest of North Carolina continue to be held in the grips of one of the worst droughts in state history.
And, while it hasn't affected their water supplies yet -- all pull from underground aquifers -- the sanitary district boards are taking on an increasingly visible role.
Among their responsibilities are -- deciding water and sewer rates, employee salaries, rules and regulations for billing and cutoff procedures, what kind and where meters should be located, how new developments should be tied on, and when and where new water and sewer lines should be run.
The boards also are responsible for determining what conservation restrictions are needed and how their districts should work with others in times of need.
Holding elections were Fork Township, Southern Wayne, Southwestern Wayne and Northwestern Wayne -- the latter two, part of Wayne Water Districts, which is a conglomerate that also includes Belfast-Patetown, Eastern Wayne and Southeastern Wayne.
Fork Township serves about 4,400 customers, Southern Wayne about 2,700, Southwestern Wayne about 1,360, and Northwestern Wayne approximately 1,940.
The results Tuesday were:
* Fork Township (two seats) -- David B. Jackson 78 votes, Andy Hartley 75. Both were incumbents. Another four votes were for write-in candidates.
* Northwestern Wayne (five seats) -- Wayne Aycock Jr. 54 votes, David Pittman 51, Walter F. Bridgers 49, William "Bill" Lynch Jr. 48, James S. Kirby 46 and Kenneth A. Tucker 38. Bridgers, Lynch, Pittman, Tucker and Kirby were the incumbents.
* Southern Wayne (three seats) -- William "Bill" Harrell 74, Scott T. Ingram 60. Another 40 votes were for write-in candidates, but the breakdown for those has not been released yet. Harrell was the lone incumbent.
* Southwestern Wayne (five seats) -- Alan R. Lumpkin 75, David A. Bennett 72, Jean L. Hood 63, Ruby Gail Minchew 48, Billy Kornegay II 41. Bennett, Lumpkin, Hood were all incumbents. Another 39 votes were for write-in candidates.