Phillip Boles, county public works director, says the station will be closed while the flooring is torn out and replaced. The work will continue through the weekend and should be complete by Monday, July 8.
The transfer station is owned and operated by Uwharrie Environmental Inc. of Troy, which holds the county’s solid waste contract. Uwharrie leases four acres for this purpose from the county. The transfer station is the point to which the county and some municipalities and private solid waste operators deliver their solid waste to be picked up by Uwharrie and transferred to the recycling and solid waste center in Troy.
Uwharrie is covering the expense for the new flooring.
“If we didn’t close it that one day, we would have too much trash to handle at one time,” Boles said. “When the new floor is in, it will be a big improvement.”
Boles said the transfer station has been in use daily since 1995 and the floor is showing signs of wear and tear.
The transfer center will reopen Friday, July 5, for regular hours from 6:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.
SALES TAXES — Sales tax collections in Moore County were 22 percent lower in March than collections in March of 2001, according to the latest monthly report from the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
The report shows a collection of $936,617.
John Frye, county financial services director, says he was not surprised at the big drop. He said the lower collection was expected because of the 9½ percent drop reported for the January through March quarter. The collection figure for March of last year was about $1.2 million.
“It is down significantly,” Frye says
However, he says there is a possibility that the March total is low because a refund was paid that month to a nonprofit corporation in the county. Nonprofits are entitled to refunds on sales taxes paid by contractors, but the refunds are paid when the nonprofit makes application, not when the contractor did the work. If that is the case, then the percentage may not be so bad after all.
Frye says there is evidence of an upturn in spring business in Moore County although this is not reflected in retail sales. He says that the room tax numbers for March exceed those of March last year, and April was also a positive month.
His finance office keeps a close eye on all sources of revenue in the county, and this information is used to plan budgets and expenditures.
EDWARDS — U.S. Sen. John Edwards is expected “back home” in Moore County for a Pinehurst gathering of his supporters in September.
This report comes from The News & Observer’s Under the Dome column. The North Carolina Democrat grew up in Robbins, where his parents still live.
RELIGION — Edwards on Wednesday joined Senate colleagues in support of bipartisan legislation to remove workplace barriers to religious freedom.
“We believe in religious freedom in this country, but too often employers are not willing to make slight adjustments that can make a world of difference to their devout workers,” Edwards said.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act required employers to accommodate religious practices, but in 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a company could fire an employee whose religious beliefs prohibit him from working on the Sabbath.
The Workplace Religious Freedom Act would restore the original intent of the Civil Rights Act. If approved, the bill would require employers to grant greater accommodations for religious practices, including time off for religious holidays and clothing required by their religion.
ENERGY — North Carolina will receive $4.2 million to improve energy efficiency of low-income homes, it was announced Tuesday by Sen. Edwards.
“This program will help low-income families afford their utility bills, as well as reduce energy waste and our dependence on foreign oil,” Edwards said. “This is good news for the environment, for the economy and for our national security.”
The funds will help the state conduct audits of eligible homes to find the most cost-efficient ways to reduce energy waste. Installation of insulation, reducing drafts and repairing inefficient heating and cooling systems are among the methods recommended.
The average value of weatherization services provided is $2,500.
