Vance board responds to Katrina


Although the issue was not on the agenda for Tuesday night’s Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting, County Manager Jerry Ayscue asked the board for a resolution to designate the old Vance Manor building a possible site to house refugees from Hurricane Katrina.

“I think it’s a good gesture to the community,” Commissioner Danny Wright said. “I would like to see us make this available.”

“Are we willing to go in that direction if the state says there is a need?” Ayscue asked. He added that the offer would come with costs and that refugees would be housed for at least 90 days.

The board unanimously approved the resolution.

County Emergency Operations Director Brian Short was due to appear before the board on a routine matter, the approval of the local plan for the National Incident Management System, but instead Ayscue presented the plan. Short was heading to the Gulf coast to assist in the recovery.

Katrina-related information also came this week from state Rep. Michael Wray, D-Northampton County, who joined state Sen. Doug Berger, D-Youngsville, in providing the commissioners with a report on the recently concluded legislative session. Wray, who delivered weekly e-mailed updates to constituents this year, sent a report on ways North Carolinians can and are helping.

And state Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson has emphasized one point Wray mentioned: Schoolchildren who evacuated from the New Orleans or other areas affected by Katrina may enroll in North Carolina public schools without the usual documentation — shot records, birth certificate, Social Security card, etc.