As snow fell steadily, the Walnut Cove Board of Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled meeting on March 2 at the Walnut Cove Senior Center.

After the call to order and an invocation by Pastor Robert Hairston, pastor of New London Primitive Baptist Church, Town Manager Homer Dearmin made several announcements about upcoming meetings and events of interest to the public.

The board voted to approve the minutes of the February meeting and moved on to new business.

The board has an agreement with the Walnut Cove Colored School, Inc. (the Walnut Cove Senior Center) to be able to use the facility for meetings whenever it is available, and the board voted to continue the agreement through June 30, 2011.

In other business, the board approved some budget amendments, most of which involved moving funds from one line item to another line item. The town has had several water and sewer issues which required allocating funds differently, and they also had to move some additional money into the account required by law as part of the Employment Security Commission mandate to compensate employees who have been laid off from work through no fault of the employee. All the budget amendments were unanimously approved.

Homer Dearmin presented the manager’s report, which included that the Walnut Cove Public Library has been having problems with its air handler. The air handler is the unit from the original building, and some condensation has soaked several ceiling tiles. The town’s insurance will cover the cost of repairing the tiles, and work should have begun during the week of March 1.

The 200 and 300 blocks of Main Street had to be evacuated after a gas leak was discovered under Darrell’s Trophy shop. Apparently someone had been stealing copper tubing, which caused the leak. The Walnut Cove Police and Fire Departments responded quickly, and the problem was resolved rapidly.

The Walnut Cove Public Works Department has continued to work on a water leak on Main Street in front of the Edward Jones building. An outside contractor must be used to help repair the broken pipe, and a steel plate currently covers the hole in Main Street.

In Walnut Cove Police Department news, all officers were scheduled to attend the mandated taser training on February 27. Chief Hill attended the Advanced Police Law Institute course from February 22-26, which focuses on constitutional law and case law updates. Sergeant Williams is also attending the Basic Police Law Institute class.

Officer Freddie Neal was chosen by his peers as the 2009 Officer of the Year, and he will be included on a plaque in the Walnut Cove Police Department recognizing his accomplishment.

On March 25, Mayor Hodgkin and three of the four commissioners plan to attend an Ethics Webinar for elected officials which is being held in Danbury at the Ronald Wilson Reagan building.

Other upcoming meetings include the budget workshop retreat which will be held at the Stokes Opportunity Center at 1080 Neal Road in Walnut Cove on Friday, March 12, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

The Planning Board will meet on March 25 at the Walnut Cove Senior Center at 7 p.m., and among the topics to be discussed is the current sign ordinance. The ordinance was adopted in early 2007, but some feel that the ordinance may be too restrictive. The public is invited to attend.

The next recycling date for the town is March 22.

The next Main Street meeting is scheduled for March 18 at 7 p.m. at the Walnut Cove Senior Center. All interested citizens are welcome.

The Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments (NWPCOG), of which the Town of Walnut Cove is a member, will meet on March 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the NWPCOG offices at 400 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem. All are welcome to attend.

Town Manager Homer Dearmin is working with Angie Cullen of Healthy Carolinians to finalize plans for a swingset which will be located near the basketball courts at London Elementary School. Purchasing and installing the swingset will complete the last part of the Healthy Carolinians grant.

Dearmin also noted that Walnut Cove may eventually have van routes and perhaps other services rendered to the town from the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART). He continues to work with Garold Smith on this project.

All are invited to attend the Camp London Civil War Camp at London Elementary School from March 24 through the 26. There will be a march from Southeastern Middle School to London on March 26 at 3:30 p.m.

The next meeting of the town board of commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, at the Walnut Cove Senior Center at 7 p.m. Citizen participation is welcome.