ELIZABETHTOWN — County commissioners observed the oath and swearing in of its new director of the Health and Human Services Agency on Monday night.
Teresa Powers Duncan will have the role of health director for Bladen County in the consolidated office. Niki Dennis, clerk of Superior Court, administered the oath.
Duncan is responsible for an agency with four departments — Health, Social Services, Division on Aging and the Bladen Area Rural Transportation System, also known as BARTS.
Duncan was one of two introductions opening the meeting.
Dr. Amanda Lee began her tenure as the fifth president of Bladen Community College on Feb. 1 and was introduced to each member of the commission. She succeeds Dr. William Findt, who retired.
She emphasized to the board and those in attendance, “This isn’t about me. It’s because of you that I wanted to come. It’s the support the college has gotten, the services the students have gotten — I’m honored to follow Dr. Findt.”
Two agenda items had significant discussion.
Dr. Robert Taylor, superintendent for Bladen County Schools, and Sharon Penny, finance officer for the school district, gave a request for overtime compensation related to school employees working in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
Taylor, with concurrence from commission chairman Charles Ray Peterson, said the situation has been exacerbated by a troubling policy. Because of it, some employees worked the same number of hours but didn’t get compensated at consistent overtime rates because one shift of consecutive days was across multiple workweeks and the other was not.
The policy will be part of next week’s planning retreat.
Horace Munn, fire chief and a councilman in East Arcadia, appeared before the board asking for help with a building used by the community college. The building needs repairs, and Munn — the brother of commissioner Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins — said previous college administrations had taken care of repairs.
“I’m asking the board to intercede on our behalf,” Munn said. “If we can’t get it repaired, we can deal with it in a different way.”
He is president of the Bladen County Improvement Association, an organized political action committee, and said the PAC would respond if necessary.
The building is one of two on a property owned by the town. Leases for each are generous; the college pays $1 a year, he said. Munn indicated the leases are also inconsistent of each other.
The college on Wednesday, two days later, issued a news release saying the need for using the building had dwindled such that it would no longer continue daily operations there. The release said “BCC will continue to explore various strategies and ways to serve students in the East Arcadia community.”
It is unclear what that may mean in resolving the issue of repairs needed prior to the announcement.
Bladen Community College’s Small Business Center recently opened a spot in the new small business incubator in downtown Elizabethtown.
The board met in closed session for what was said to be a personnel issue. After about five minutes, it returned and nominated and approved Brian Campbell for the college Board of Trustees. He’ll fill the unexpired term of Barbara Knight, who tendered a resignation letter in mid-October citing other commitments.
The term runs through June 30, 2020.
Teresa Powers Duncan shares words of affirmation at Monday night’s county commissioners meeting, where she was sworn in as the new health director.
Dr. Amanda Lee greets Commissioner Michael Cogdell before Monday’s meeting. Charles Ray Peterson, chairman of the commission, handled the introductions. Cogdell is flanked by commissioners Russell Priest and Ashley Trivette.
Teresa Powers Duncan takes the oath of office from Niki Dennis, the clerk of Superior Court, on Monday night. From left are commissioners Arthur Bullock and Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins, and Greg Martin, the county manager.