The Pinehurst City Council joined other entities in the county Tuesday in passing a resolution supporting the creation of a hospital district for Orange County. Pinehurst City Administrator Robbie Hood asked Orange City Manager Dr. Shawn Oubre to speak to the City Council on the need for the hospital district. Dr. Oubre who has been spearheading efforts to get a new hospital for the area said the Orange County Commissioners Court is in the driver’s seat now since it will need to call the countywide election for the establishing of a hospital district. “But everybody’s still going in the same direction,” Oubre emphasized. The resolution was approved unanimously by the council.
Acting on the recommendation of Pinehurst Police Chief Fred Hanauer, the council approved continuing the city’s curfew ordinance with no changes. Chief Hanauer gave his annual Racial Profile Report which showed no racial profiling of citizens during traffic stops conducted by the Pinehurst Police in 2016.
The Pinehurst municipal election was ordered to be held Saturday, May 6. There will be three seats for the city council on the ballot. Alderpersons Sarah McLendon, T. W. Permenter, and Dan Mohon have their terms expire in May. The positions are all at-large. Filing to be on the ballot begins January 18.
The Pinehurst Volunteer Fire Department was featured during the meeting of the City Council Tuesday night. The results of the election by members were approved by the council. Shon Branham was re-elected as the Fire Chief and Kevin Williamson was elected as the Assistant Fire Chief. Afterwards Mayor Pete Runnels gave the oaths of office to Branham, Williamson, and Fire Captain Samuel Johnson. City Administrator Robbie Hood complimented all the volunteers that serve in the Pinehurst Fire Department. Hood said that the men and women of the fire department do a wonderful job protecting the citizens of Pinehurst.
The City Council authorized Chief Branham to spend $4,400 on new equipment for the fire department. Pinehurst received the money as the result of services provided by the fire department during an incident last year involving a downed power line.
Pinehurst honored the state champion West Orange-Stark Mustangs football team with a proclamation as the meeting began. Head Coach Cornel Thompson was joined by Coach Ed Dyer, School Trustee Tony Dallas, and Mustangs Jack and Chad Dallas in accepting the proclamation and the thanks of all those in attendance for their superlative efforts during the perfect 16-0 season.
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