CHOCOWINITY—Woogie’s Seafood Restaurant in Chocowinity filled with local Republicans Thursday night as they gathered for the monthly Beaufort County Republican Club meeting.
Greg Dority, chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, launched his 2012 run against incumbent Elaine Marshall for North Carolina Secretary of State. Dority spoke about his desire to see a zero corporate tax policy implemented to attract more jobs and businesses to the state, and touched on the possibility of a North Carolina central bank modeled after the state-owned and –run Bank of North Dakota, which serves as a funding resource in partnership with other financial institutions and economic development groups.
“Capital goes where capital is treated best,” Dority said, emphasizing the need to create a friendlier environment for corporations statewide.
Beaufort County Commissioner Al Klemm took the podium to welcome former Democratic state representative Arthur Williams to the meeting, and to the Republican Party. Williams switched party affiliations in October. At the time he claimed: “the democratic party abandoned me” during the 2010 election, in which the incumbent Williams was defeated by Rep. Bill Cook.
Klemm then introduced guest speaker Sheriff Alan Jordan, using the introduction to expound on the Sheriffs offices’ immediate needs, which not only encompass a new jail, but a new facility for the Sheriffs Office itself. Currently, the department is located on the ground floor of a century-old building on N. Market Street. The two floors above are inhabitable due to decay and during Hurricane Irene, on-duty officers had to scramble to prevent the leaking roof from destroying over $100,000 worth of electronic equipment, including the 911 console.
Jordan spoke at length, taking questions from the audience, about the push for a new jail facility in Beaufort County.
“I would like to see a facility that is good for years to come,” Jordan said. “Where fifty years from now, it’s still working for us. I’d like to avoid the situation that we’re in now.”
Jordan emphasized what he’d like to see in a new facility though conceding he is no expert on jail construction.
“I’d like to see something that can expand to fit our needs, that exists above the flood plain, and has easy access to emergency facilities,” Jordan said, then went on to explain that having the Sheriffs Office and jail beneath one roof makes a safer environment for inmates and jail employees alike.
County Commissioner Jay McRoy engaged Jordan and Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. in conversation, pointing out that judges tend to set lower bonds in Beaufort County, on many occasions solely to keep the jail population down and keep overcrowding manageable in the current facility. Sermons acknowledged the fact, as well as the work Beaufort County’s detention officers do every day, saying “(Jordan’s) staff does wonders” but stressed the need to move forward with a new facility immediately.
“I’m not going to be as diplomatic as (Jordan),” Sermons said to the audience. “In my opinion, we can’t talk about it for two more years. We have to act.”