DURHAM — A scholarship of $2,000 for a first responder in eastern North Carolina is available through WGU North Carolina and the N.C. Association of Fire Chiefs.

The Eastern North Carolina First Responders Scholarship is available to an emergency medical technician, firefighter or police officer working east of Interstate 95. The tuition credit of $500 per six-month term is renewable for up to four terms.

Deadline to apply is Sept. 15. More information is available at wgu.edu/ENC.

WGU North Carolina is the state affiliate of Western Governors University, an online university offering degree programs in business, K-12 teacher education, information technology and health professions, including nursing. The Association of Fire Chiefs provides a wide range of programs designed to meet the needs and enhance the skills of fire service managers.

The scholarship was started in response to the number of counties still recovering from Hurricane Florence. The storm made landfall near Wrightsville Beach on the morning of Sept. 14.

Reports on deaths and damage varied according to recording techniques.

The National Hurricane Center said North Carolina had 15 deaths and $22 billion in damage. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said the storm resulted in 44 deaths and did an estimated $17 billion damage.

In a news release, Catherine Truitt said the North Carolina WGU affiliate had to cancel an anniversary event in Wilmington because of the storm.

“Rather than reschedule the event,” the chancellor said, “we thought better use of the money would be to establish the Eastern North Carolina First Responders Scholarship as a means of thanking those who put their lives on the line during and after the hurricane.”

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Alan Wooten

Bladen Journal

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.