Longtime Spring Lake Mayor Ethel T. Clark has died. She was 72. She served in public office in Spring Lake for 30 years.

Clark was elected and re-elected mayor from 2001-2011 after serving 20 years on the Board of Aldermen. She became the town’s first African-American female chief executive.

Clark was mayor when the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office assumed control of the Spring Lake Police Department, after State Bureau of Investigation agents arrested two Spring Lake officers on charges ranging from embezzlement and obstruction of justice to kidnapping and breaking and entering. Sgt. Darryl Eugene Coulter Sr. and Sgt. Alphonzo Devonne Whittington Jr. eventually pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.

The funeral service for Clark was held Aug. 8 at Williams Chapel Church in Spring Lake.

Highly decorated Fort Bragg soldier dies in parachute mishap

Sgt. Maj. Christopher Nelms, an Army special operations soldier, died when his parachute failed to fully open during a training maneuver in Scotland County, Fort Bragg’s Special Operations Command confirmed this month. Nelms, 46, was identified as a member of the elite Delta Force, a secretive special operations group, said Yahoo News, which was first to report his death.

The Army did not announce the accident. Nelms died July 1 at Duke University Medical Center. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on July 31 and was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit.

Nelms was critically injured while training at Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, a spokesman for USASOC, said in a statement to Army Times. His parachute did not fully deploy during a June 27 free-fall exercise, Yahoo News reported.

Nelms was a troop sergeant major with USASOC. He deployed six times to Iraq and Afghanistan and once to Niger. A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
Nelms is survived by wife Stephanie Nelms and their two children, 16-year-old Naley and 15-year-old Nolan.

Eight-mile river walk

Crews will soon begin construction of a new section of the Cape Fear River Trail that will connect two existing segments. When completed, the trail will extend for eight miles from the Jordan Soccer Complex off Ramsey Street to the southern end at the city’s Riverside Dog Park near the new bridge at I-95 Business.

The CSX railroad sold the city of Fayetteville an easement through its property beneath the railroad tracks, allowing the city to build a bridge under those tracks overlooking the banks of the Cape Fear River. Construction is slated to begin this fall and could be completed next summer.

“We are excited to be able to connect these portions of the trail,” said Deputy City Manager Kristoff Bauer.

Funding for the bridge, which will run through the CSX easement, includes a federal grant in the amount of $600,000, a state contribution of $1 million and a city contribution of $150,000.

Shoreline Drive to receive repairs

Construction on Shoreline Drive in College Lakes to replace a culvert beneath the roadway began Aug. 13. Lanier Construction Company of Snow Hill, North Carolina, was awarded the $830,000 contract.

Several factors led to the emergency replacement of the 36-inch pipe. The existing culvert on Shoreline Drive has been in service since the late 1960s. It deteriorated to the point that it had to be replaced. Shoreline Drive is the only accessible roadway to the upper portion of the College Lakes subdivision, which necessitated this project.

Construction is expected to be completed by spring of 2019.

Fayetteville hazmat team recertified

The Fayetteville Fire Department’s Special Operations Division has been recertified. It is charged with overseeing the operation of the hazardous materials team and the collapse, search and rescue team. Recertification is required every five years by the North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS.

“I’m proud of our staff and I congratulate them on this achievement,” said Assistant Fire Chief Robert Brinson.

Hazardous material team units are assigned to fire stations 1 and 17. Each team member is required to obtain, at a minimum, state certification as a Hazardous Materials Level II Technician.

In addition to handling all local hazardous materials incidents, the team is also contracted by the state as one of seven regional response teams responsible for a 12-county area. In the event of a long deployment, the team is also equipped with tents, food and water. Members are issued specialized protective equipment to ensure safety during dangerous operations.

 

PHOTO: Ethel T. Clark