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Does the Craven County Commissioners’ resolution to make the Board of Education elections partisan serve the children and families of Craven County? Or are other interests at play?
The Craven County Democratic Party understands that many parents have voiced strong objections to actions taken by the Craven County Board of Education and this appears to have peaked in recent months. Some of the issues that have been raised are perceived non-responsiveness to families and local officials by the Board of Education; concerns with the treatment of children with special needs; and frustration with the Board of Education’s actions during the time of the COVID pandemic.
When he’s sworn in as the newest member of the Craven County Board of Education on March 11, Victor Dove knows he’ll have big shoes to fill. Dove will take over the District 4 seat formerly held by Beatrice Smith, who served eight years on the Board and was the first black female to hold a principalship in the integrated Craven County Schools system.
In December 2020 Smith was appointed to fill the District 3 seat on the Craven County Board of Commissioners vacated by the late Johnnie Sampson, who died of complications from COVID-19 last November.
A New Bern native who works as a funeral director and embalmer at Oscar’s Mortuary, Dove said he’s ready to take on the responsibilities that come with the new position.
Sun Journal
Like most other aspects of life, city election cycles have been thrown into disarray since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In New Bern, it appears delays in gathering national census data will push municipal elections originally scheduled for this October forward to 2022.
The current Board of Aldermen, as well as Mayor Dana Outlaw, were elected to four-year terms in November 2017 and would normally have served until December of 2021. However, due to COVID-19 related delays in the 2020 U.S. census data, New Bern’s next municipal election will likely be pushed to 2022.
Though plans currently call for the election to be held in March 2022 at the earliest and possibly as late as the following November, a proposal this week by the State Board of Elections would set the following timeline for the state’s 2022 municipal and ward elections: primary election - May 3, runoff - July 12, general election - November 8. While current statutes call for municipal elections
Sun Journal
Craven County Health Director Scott Harrelson had just gotten off the phone when he returned my call. He’d been trying to calm down angry senior citizens wondering what’s taking so long to get their COVID vaccines. “It’s been a real week,” he sighed. “The state really did a number on us this last go-round.”
Harrelson does not hide his frustration with the state. Craven County has been working tirelessly to get out every dose it receives, he said – a kind of triumvirate between the county, Coastal Carolina Health Care and CarolinaEast Health Systems, reaching out to patients and residents and setting up appointments to use every dose the county gets. “We’re getting rid of it within seven days of receiving it,” he said.