2/9/06 Kan - NC House Republicans
Phil Stover
Media Report
Draft
June 21, 2020
Part I Introduction
This report reviews electronically available news stories on Phil Stover, candidate for the NC House.
The Table of Contents in Part II of the report is a useful guide to the entire report and can be used as a stand-alone summary. In one section, it surveys the bulk of the news file, through the headlines we have assigned to each item.
Part III, the Greatest Hits section, identifies key points taken from available media articles.
Parts IV, The News File, contain edited copies of the most relevant electronically available stories.
We hope you find this useful.
Part II Table of Contents
Part I Introduction 2
Part II Table of Contents 2
Part III Stover - Greatest Hits from Media Review 4
Background 4
Free Clinic Operator 4
2004 - Clinic Opened 4
2009 - Clinic Opens Thrift Store To Raise Funds 5
Partnership Attempts With Local Government 6
Clinic Allowed Partisan Attacks at Its 11th Anniversary Celebration 7
2015 - New Grant 8
Current FCHP 9
Airport Commission 9
Opposed to 2007 US Senate Aviation Bill 9
2010 - Tried to Get Airport To Give His Business A Rental Car Contract 10
Opposed by Rest of Commission on Self-Serve Fueling 11
Partisanship 13
Part IV Stover – The News File, 2004-20 14
2004 14
JUN 2004 Gets $25k Grant to Open Free Clinic 14
2006 16
MAR 2006 County To Take Over Airport Management 16
2007 18
FEB 2007 Airport Commission Meeting 18
APR 2007 Bike Race For Plight of Uninsurced 19
MAY 2007 Supports New Health Clinic 19
MAY 2007 Pushing Clinic Grant 20
JUN 2007 As Airport Commissioner, Opposes Congressional Aviation Bill 21
JUL 2007 Clinic’s Work And Expectations 22
AUG 2007 Airport Commission Adopts Field Maintenance Program 25
2008 29
MAR 2008 Concerned About Wake Health Services 29
APR 2008 WHS Clinic Still On Track 30
JUN 2008 Airport Commission Meeting 30
JUL 2008 Airport Commission Meeting 33
AUG 2008 Denounces Lack of Universal Health Care 34
SEP 2008 Airport Commission Meeting 35
DEC 2008 Hosted Clinton at Home 37
2009 38
JAN 2009 Airport Commission Meeting 38
FEB 2009 Airport Commission Meeting 40
MAR 2009 Airport Commission Meeting 43
MAR 2009 Free Clinic Needs Help 45
JUN 2009 Thrift Store Opens to Help Clinic 46
OCT 2009 Fifth Anniversary of Clinic 48
2010 50
JUN 2010 Daughter’s Wedding 50
AUG 2010 Airport Commission Meeting 50
SEP 2010 Tries to Propose Own Rental Car Business For Aiport (Conflict of Interest) 52
NOV 2010 Airport Commission Meeting 53
DEC 2010 Clinic Helping Uninsured 54
2011 56
MAY 2011 Airport Commission Meeting 56
AUG 2011 Clinic Selected for Anti-Smoking Campaign 57
AUG 2011 Airport Commission Meeting 58
DEC 2011 Airport Commission Meeting 61
2012 63
JUN 2012 Airport Commission Meeting 63
2013 65
FEB 2013 Fundraiser For Clinic 65
MAR 2013 Fundraiser For Clinic 66
AUG 2013 Collaboartion With Health Department Over 68
DEC 2013 Clinic On Verge Of Collapse 70
2014 72
OCT 2014 Clinic Backers Bash GOP 72
2015 74
FEB 2015 Airport Commission Meeting 74
AUG 2015 Daughter Wedding 75
DEC 2015 Grant For Clinic 75
2017 78
JUN 2017 Airport Commission Meeting 78
OCT 2017 Airport Commission Meeting 80
OCT 2017 County Doesn’t Need To Match Grant 81
2020 83
MAR 2020 Running For State House 83
MAR 2020 Airport Commission Meeting 83
MAY 2020 Clinic Offering Free Virus Testing 85
Part III Stover - Greatest Hits from Media Review
Background
(From Ballotpedia)
Phil Stover was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He served in the United States Army from 1972 to 1978. He earned a bachelor's degree from Penn State University, a master's degree in anatomic pathology from George Washington University, and an M.D. from Eastern Virginia Medical School. Stover completed his residency in family medicine at Duke University. His career experience includes working as a family physician and hospice medical director. He specializes in chronic pain management and opioid addiction, and he is the medical director for the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine.
Free Clinic Operator
Dr. Stover’s prominence in the community comes from his operation of a free clinic which opened in 2004. It was first known as the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), and since late 2015 has been known as Franklin Community Partners in Health (FCPH).
2004 - Clinic Opened
When the clinic opened in 2004, Stover cited the importance of his faith in his work.
• The $25,000 grant Dr. Phil Stover received last month for the free health care clinic he's planning to open this fall in Franklin County could be likened to modern-day manna from heaven. "God has had a strange way of always coming through at the right time," said Stover, whose Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic received the first startup grant in the five-year, $10 million free clinic initiative by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. "It means us being able to open," Stover said.
• For 18 months, Stover has led a group of like-minded volunteers looking for a location for the clinic and raising money for the effort. He estimated that 8,000 people are uninsured in Franklin County at any given time -- about 20 percent of the population. "There's a Jewish carpenter who asked me to do this," Stover said. "I feel like I'm obligated to give something back."
• Stover is not alone in feeling that calling. Medical professionals and other nonmedical volunteers are helping the uninsured obtain health care for free or nominal fees in clinics founded by churches and synagogues. He follows a tradition begun in 1985 when Urban Ministries of Wake County opened its downtown Open Door Clinic. Alliance Medical Ministry opened in Raleigh last year. Often their faith draws health-care providers to this role…..
• Working in free clinics is not new to Stover, a Louisburg family physician for 20 years. He first worked in a free clinic in Washington, D.C., while in graduate school. "I did it for very selfish reasons," he said, "to get into medical school." He continued his gratis care in medical school and later in Durham. (Raleigh News and Observer, 6/4/04)
2009 - Clinic Opens Thrift Store To Raise Funds
Grants and private donors were the chief source of contributions to VIM’s operations. In 2009 they opened a thrift store to bring in more revenue.
• The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine flung open the doors to its new thrift shop on Thursday, hoping the venture fuels and broadens its efforts to care for the county's underserved.
• The organization opened its clinic in Louisburg in 2004 with the goal of serving the rising number of uninsured and underinsured residents in Franklin County. To operate, organizers have relied on grants and the kindness of donors.
• But with the opening of its thrift store, Encore! Encore! in Franklinton on Thursday, organizers hope they have hit on a continuing source of revenue to help them serve the community.
• "This has been a dream we've had for three years," said Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Executive Director Beverly Kegley. "This is something that will help us grow and sustain ourselves," she told a crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting and grand opening at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
• Dr. Phil Stover, medical director and chairman of the clinic, said the thrift store both provides a chance for the organization to generate revenue to operate the clinic, but it also provides them a chance to reach out to the entire community.
• "When we opened (the clinic), we relied on grants but they dry up and you have to be creative to find funding," Stover said. "And it's not easy to do in these economic times," he said. "But this thrift store can help us sustain the clinic. With the help of God, this will work."
• And he said the organization is happy to be open in Franklinton. "The clinic opened in Louisburg, but Volunteers in Medicine is not just Louisburg," he said. "It's county wide."
• The thrift store was able to open in a building across from the Franklinton High School because of a $5,000 grant provided by Novozymes. "With their startup grant, we're able to open up now rather than a few months from now," Kegley said.
• The store opening also highlighted another partnership that VIM has with JourneyPartners - an ecumenical and interfaith not-for-profit ministry. One of the group's programs is called Jewels for Hope, a program to assist and empower orphans in Zimbabwe. Through the program, a trained volunteer works each week with children ages 12-19 to help with jewelry-making skills and the rudiments of small business management. (FT, 6/26/09)
Partnership Attempts With Local Government
From 2010 to 2013, a three year grant allowed them to partner with the local health department but when the grant ended, so did the partnership. There had been a clash of visions.
• A medical collaboration designed to give the sick a more stable health care home ended this summer. A loss of funding and an underlying difference in culture ultimately concluded the venture between the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine and the county Health Department.
• "A nonprofit and government partnership is doable," said Dr. Phillip Stover, the free clinic's medical director and chair of the board of directors. "It's not easy."
• The collaboration began in 2010 with a three-year, $175,000 Community Health Center Grant. It allowed the free clinic to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort.
• From the beginning, though, both sides acknowledged their diverging cultures. The health department is a high-volume practice with state and federal mandates. The free clinic is a volunteer, faith-based organization with less bureaucracy.
• Initially, VIM and the health department worked well, said Stover, VIM Executive Director Beverly Kegley and Health Department Director Dr. Chris Szwagiel. But the three-year grant expired in December and the collaboration ran out at the end of the 2013 fiscal year.
• "We had looked at different avenue to see if we could do something to sustain it," Szwagiel said. "Things didn't come together on that. "We were willing to have them run their clinic here," he said, "but there were other things they wanted to do."
• Stover and Kegley said the funding was only part of the reason why they decided to pull out of the health department. Stover said there was some friction between the two groups.
• Stover said clinic staff was subject to security protocols that they felt were too invasive. And free clinic volunteers and patients, he said, did not always feel welcome. The layout of the health department itself was problematic.
• Ultimately, Stover and Kegley said it was a culture clash between the mandate-driven health department and the, by comparison, free-wheeling nature of the free clinic. "When we first went over there," Stover said, "there was a lot of angst between both staffs, but we worked through that. "Through the day-to-day, we had some good working relationships," he said. "There were just some things we could not overcome."
• But he and Kegley said they would be willing to consider a collaboration, again, with a government entity. They would want to be full partners, though, not feeling like contracted workers. (FT, 8/4/13)
By the end of 2013, the clinic was described as being in a state of near-collapse. A local columnist, supportive of the clinic said that VIM had “become more big than it was designed to be.”
• My assessment is the clinic has become more than what it was designed to be. The vision was at some point for it to become financially self-sustaining. Grants were obtained, donations given, and there was great support by many to bring this to a success. Many health care providers and volunteers joined the effort. All of which deserve great credit. This includes Beverly Kegley, the director of the clinic, a woman with a heart bigger than Texas. She would help everyone if she could.
• The organization simply lost sight of the future. I could not find an existing functioning mission statement or plan. At one point they had a plan, it was not followed. No one planned to fail.
• The Volunteer Medical Clinic was born of great need. I was told many years ago Dr. Phil Stover recognized this and organized the effort to address it. I personally know Dr. Stover and had no idea of what he has, and is doing on this; one of the "unsung heroes." Without him from what I see there would be no clinic. There are so many in our community doing wonderful things like this. They are not boastful or looking for attention. I have found most would rather not even be known for what they are doing. (FT, 12/11/13)
Clinic Allowed Partisan Attacks at Its 11th Anniversary Celebration
The Clinic was forced to reduce its hours. At a celebration of its 11th anniversary, a local State Representative chose to bash the GOP over lack of Medicaid expansion. Stover, who was already known as a local Democratic activist, permitted this.
• Eleven years after forming, organizers of the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine reflected upon their free clinic and had warm words for those who have fought to maintain viable healthcare in Franklin County. It was hard, though, not to cast a gaze and share some critical words for members of the General Assembly who voted against Medicaid expansion -- creating health care hardships for some of the state's most vulnerable citizens.
• "The [Republican-led] General Assembly should be ashamed," said District 7 Rep. Bobbie Richardson (D), who provided the keynote address during the 11-year anniversary last week. Richardson noted the General Assembly should take its cues from Volunteers in Medicine founders, Dr. Phil Stover and Beverly Kegley, who saw a need to provide care for uninsured and underinsured and stepped up. You've provided medical services for those who can't provide for themselves."
• During the Oct. 9 ceremony, she also quoted former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
• "North Carolina government is failing to do that," she said. "Volunteers in Medicine is doing that." The idea for the clinic began in 2003 to treat, at the time, the roughly 8,000 uninsured and under insured residents in Franklin County.
• By 2005, VIM had secured its location on Church Street to begin providing clinic hours to residents who suffered from chronic health issues. Since its inception, the clinic has relied upon donations to operate, including those from the private sector.
• However, the clinic has survived on grants, such as a three-year, $175,000 grant they received in 2010 from the Community Health Center. It allowed VIM to collaborate with the health department, giving them a chance to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort.
• That relationship, due to financial and philosophical issues, fizzled and VIM has gone back to providing clinic hours a handful of days each month at its Church Street location.
• "It's our 11th year, but we've really been working on this 13 or 14 years," Dr. Stover said. "It's been a roller-coaster ride. We've been to mountain tops and we've seen valleys," he said. "When we got this place," Stover said, pointing to the building on Church Street, "and when we got grant money, we were on a high. And we were on a high when we had the partnership with the health department," Stover said. "Then, the political winds changed and funding dried up "And, now, with Medicaid money (going away) we've hit a valley. But we're still here," he said. "We're struggling, but we're not giving up." (FT, 10/15/14)
2015 - New Grant
By late 2015, a new grant to help keep the now renamed Clinic going was almost in place.
• The Franklin County Board of Health agreed to move forward with applying for a grant that would bolster a decade-old free clinic service. The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine began operating its free clinic in Louisburg in 2005, serving as a medical home for the more than 8,000 uninsured and underinsured residents in Franklin County. Since its inception, the clinic has relied upon donations to operate, including those from the private sector.
• However, the clinic has survived on grants, such as a three-year, $175,000 grant it received in 2010 from the Community Health Center. It allowed VIM to collaborate with the health department, giving them a chance to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort. That relationship, due to financial and philosophical issues, fizzled and VIM has gone back to providing clinic hours a handful of days each month at its Church Street location.
• Now, though, under a new name, Franklin Community Partners in Health (FCPH), and some new leadership, Acting Executive Director Chris Pernell, the clinic is looking to try a new collaborative effort with the Franklin County Health Department.
• During the Board of Health's Dec. 17 meeting, members agreed to let staff move forward and explore applying for a Rural Health Community Health Grant in partnership with the free clinic.
• "They've been operating without grant money, and they've just been patching things together the best they can," Health Director Dr. Chris Szwagiel told board members during the meeting.
• The collaborative would allow FCPH to set up shop in the health department's dental clinic, which it no longer uses. The grant, if applied for, approved and received, would give the FCPH a shot in the arm to host more clinics in a bigger space at the health department. (FT, 12/30/15)
Current FCHP
Apparently this new grant did not come through. The current version of FCHP which Stover runs, only operates once per week and was said to be founded in 2018. Thus, the scope of the free clinic work that Stover does is much smaller than the original vision.
• Franklin County Partners in Health is a charitable clinic that sees patients with chronic diseases who have no health insurance and live in Franklin County. It currently operates on Thursdays and charges $3-$5 for visits. Stover's Louisburg Family Practice and Pain Management is a private practice that works closely with Franklin County Partners in Health. (FT, 5/27/20)
Airport Commission
Stover’s other claim to local prominence comes from his service (since 2006) on the Franklin County Airport Commission. Stover is a pilot and (also since 2006) the Commission has been responsible for Franklin County Regional Airport (later renamed Triangle North Executive Airport)
Opposed to 2007 US Senate Aviation Bill
In 2007, Stover expressed his concerns over an aviation bill introduced in the US Senate. There is no follow-up regarding how this bill panned out or if the Commission ever took a formal vote or view on it.
• The Franklin County airport board figures it's time to take a position on an aviation bill that at least one commissioner said could devastate general aviation airports. U.S. senators Jay Rockefeller, Trent Lott, Daniel K. Inouye and Ted Stevens introduced the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 that would, among other things, charge a $25 fee per flight on commercial and high-end general aviation jet flights. The fee would be used to modernize the air traffic control system. The bill narrowly made its way out of a Senate finance committee this week.
• Proponents of the bill say that 90 percent of general aviation craft would be exempt from the surcharge, but Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover is fearful that such a fee would turn away general aviation flyers — the lifeblood for small ports like the county's.
• "General aviation (supporters) are convinced it's a disaster," Stover said during the board's meeting on Tuesday. "It's ruined general aviation in the rest of the world."
• He said the fee would be a deterrent for those with smaller planes and smaller budgets who want to fly. "I think it will have a negative impact on safety," Stover said. "If someone has to pay $25 for a flight plan every time, they just might not file one."
• The bill would not affect piston-powered general aviation craft, but it would affect those who fly turbine aircraft.
• Airport Director Leigh Osborn said that 90 percent of the 70-plus planes at Franklin County Regional Airport are piston-powered. The proposed U.S. Senate bill, though, includes fees that cover licensing, medical evaluations and testing. "As a general aviation proponent, I'm against anything that, in my opinion, would harm general aviation," Osborn said. "We are a general aviation airport and my position is to advocate for that. "User fees would have some negative impact (on general aviation), but until something is finalized and we know what we're dealing with, it's too soon to take a position."
• The board asked staff to provide someone from the state Department of Transportation to more thoroughly inform the board about the proposal at its next meeting. Following that, the board may consider adopting a letter of support or opposition to the proposal.
• "I would hate for us to sit here and not do anything," said Airport Commission Chair Lynwood Buffaloe, "but we need to have further study on something that we'll put our name on."
• The Aviation Investment and Modernization Act would reauthorize the FAA's four major accounts: Operations; Facilities & Equipment; the Airport Improvement Program and Research, Engineering and Development at a level of more than $65 billion from 2008 through 2011.
• According to the proposed bill, the fee would also dedicate funding of about $400 million annually for modernizing the air traffic control system through the establishment of the Air Traffic Modernization Fund. (FT. 6/10/07)
2010 - Tried to Get Airport To Give His Business A Rental Car Contract
In 2010, Stover proposed letting the Airport Commission allow his business to set up a rental car service at the airport. The Commission turned him down citing potential conflict of interest issues and that he would likely have to resign from the Commission, which he would not consider.
• Franklin County's airport authority opted out of striking a deal with one of its own. Airport board member Dr. Phil Stover presented fellow commissioners with his personal proposal to provide a car for rental at the county's Triangle North Executive Airport.
• The proposal called for county airport staff to handle paperwork associated with the rentals - for which Stover would provide compensation. Revenue, if any, would be Stover's, as it would be his business, Skyhawk Enterprises LLC.
The County staff, County Attorney and County Manager all were “uneasy” about the proposal.
• County staff, including County Attorney David Guin and County Manager Angela Harris, along with airport board members, were uneasy about such an alliance. "It is a conflict (of interest)," Guin told the board after having consulted with counsel with the N.C. School of Government.
• The only options to provide such a service, it appears, would be for Stover to resign his post on the airport commission or operate the business using staff of a business that is based at the airport. Stover did not propose to quit.
• The prospect of an airport board member operating an airport business under an operation that is at the airport - and subject to decisions made by the board - brought questions from Harris. "There is question whether that still constitutes a conflict of interest," Harris said. "I guess if it is a problem, you could abstain from decisions affecting (whichever business is in question)."
• Stover, who is a pilot, said he made the proposal because there is a lack of rental car options at the airport. "I think it would be a win-win for the airport, and myself," he said. He said using another business at the airport to handle the rentals, rather than county staff, appeared to be the way to go.
• However, conflict of interest wasn't the only issue, Guin said. If Stover uses another business at the airport to handle the rental operation, Guin said it will be important that the tenants agreement is specific about their operation, as well as their agreement with Stover. Guin said such language would be essential in helping the county avoid any liability issues if an accident or other matter occurs while a client is using the rental car.
• "If I were an attorney in such a situation, I'd look at the rental company, the business under which it's operating and, down the line, to the county," Guin said. "(Without a definitive contract with the tenant), there might be the appearance that the county has something to do with it."
• The board did not take any action on Stover's proposal, other than the recommendation that he pursue the project with a business already at the airport. Stover mentioned that N.C. Rotor and Wing might be an option. "I think it might be doable (under a business already here)," Stover said. "I just thought about doing this because I believe it's a badly needed service at the airport." (FT, 9/18/10)
There was no follow-up on this story. Note the conflict-of-interest issue it raises – this might be an effective line for questioning his judgment as a potential legislator.
Opposed by Rest of Commission on Self-Serve Fueling
A January 2009 meeting of the commission saw Stover as the lone member pushing for self-serve fueling for pilots which the rest of the commission refused to second, focusing instead on construction of a new hangar.
• The Franklin County Airport Commission decided to slow down on one capital project and get more information on another — much to the chagrin of the only pilot on the committee who attended. For more than a year, the board has discussed the prospect of placing self-serve fuel equipment at the airport, giving pilots the freedom to fill-up 24/7 while freeing airport staff from the duty.
• During a Jan. 12 meeting, representatives with the airport's consultant group presented the board with bids for the project, the lowest being $185,000. Airport Commissioner and pilot Dr. Phil Stover made a motion to accept the bids, giving consultants LPA Group the wiggle room to negotiate the price down as much as possible.
• His motion, though, never received a second once the board began discussing — at Airport Manager Rob Southerland's request — the benefits of building a new box hangar, which could house corporate jets. Southerland's rationale was that the hangar, which costs most — about $600,000 — would generate more revenue for the airport than a self-serve fuel system could.
• That project, Southerland said, could be funded through state aviation grants, which require a county match of about $16,666, as well as available airport funds and expected revenue from this year.
• "Recently, I had conversations about housing a Citation 2 and 340 (both larger business jets)," Southerland said. "That's $2-million worth of planes, but we have no where to put anything like that."
• Although the corporate hangar could provide the airport with revenue, Stover said now is the time to fulfill a project that the airport's based and transient pilots said was a top priority.
• "I think self-serve is a bigger issue," Stover said. "I think it is an attraction for the airport. I think we need to move forward." (FT, 1/23/09)
This disagreement gave Stover a chance to note that he had also, along with other pilots, not been happy over the decision to permit a skydiving operation at the airport.
• Deciding not to move forward with a vote, he said, would be the second time that the Airport Commission has stepped on the toes of pilots. The first was when the board gave its recommendation to allow a skydiving operation at the airport. "Building the hangars (instead of self-serve) would be a kick in the teeth for the pilots on this field.
But nonetheless, he did not stand in the way of the skydiving operation from being established.
• Stover said the pilot in him is concerned about the potential negative impact that a skydiving operation could have on pilots, but the commissioner in him realizes the fiscal and general interest a skydiving operation could provide for the airport. However, losing momentum right now would be wrong, he said.
• "We've been talking about this for a year and we get to the point of doing it and then you want to push it off a year," he said. "We'd be going against the people who keep supporting this airport."
A fellow Commissioner, Bob Winters noted that “Fuel farm” needed for self-serve fueling would be far more costly over the long haul.
• Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Bob Winters took exception to that characterization, reminding the board that taxpayers have bore the brunt of supporting the airport from its inception in 1988. From 1994 through 2005, the county had spent more than $400,000 at the airport, which did not begin to break even until about a year later.
• To that end, airport commissioners began to shift more to the idea of building the new hangars, which could generate revenue. The fuel farm would take more than 100 years to pay back the investment. A fully stocked corporate hanger, he said, could generate $12,000 a year in ad valorem taxes, alone.
• "I'm not trying to put a monkey wrench in the works," Southerland said of the momentum that appears to have delayed with the self-serve operation. "I'm not for or against self-serve or the hangars. I just want to look at this as a business and put all the options out there."
• After Stover's motion died for lack of a second, newly appointed Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Don Lancaster made a motion to put the corporate hangar project out to bid. He didn't say it had to be at the expense of the self-serve project, though. Perhaps, the board could do both. "You all asked for a priority," Lancaster said, "and I support building the hangars."
• The bids for the self-serve operation, said LPA Group representative Terry Bumpus, were good for 90 days.
• So, they can still negotiate that project while also submitting bids for the hangar project. Depending on funding sources and options, the board could try to do both, but the priority during the meeting was in support of the hangars.
• Stover still made his objections known as he was the lone dissenter to Lancaster's motion. "(Self-serve) was something pilots were looking forward to, and we've been working on it since I've been on the board," he said. "We kept putting it off, but now here we are with bids and ready to get shovels out and then we decide to go in another direction. I disagree." (FT, 1/23/09)
Partisanship
In 2008, he hosted former President Clinton at his home during the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama primary campaign. (FT, 12/30/08)
He also has championed universal health coverage.
• "The lack of universal health care in this country is a moral catastrophe," said Dr. Philip Stover, a VIM founder and doctor at the clinic. "If people get sick and they don't have health care, they can't work and they can't support their families. We could tell stories all day about the lack of health care that would break your heart.” (FT, 8/19/08)
His candidacy for the 2020 House race has been filed but, through mid-June, there have been no in-depth articles about his campaign or his stances on the issues.
Part IV Stover – The News File, 2004-20
2004
JUN 2004 Gets $25k Grant to Open Free Clinic
The $25,000 grant Dr. Phil Stover received last month for the free health care clinic he's planning to open this fall in Franklin County could be likened to modern-day manna from heaven.
"God has had a strange way of always coming through at the right time," said Stover, whose Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic received the first startup grant in the five-year, $10 million free clinic initiative by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.
"It means us being able to open," Stover said.
For 18 months, Stover has led a group of like-minded volunteers looking for a location for the clinic and raising money for the effort. He estimated that 8,000 people are uninsured in Franklin County at any given time -- about 20 percent of the population.
"There's a Jewish carpenter who asked me to do this," Stover said. "I feel like I'm obligated to give something back."
Stover is not alone in feeling that calling. Medical professionals and other nonmedical volunteers are helping the uninsured obtain health care for free or nominal fees in clinics founded by churches and synagogues. He follows a tradition begun in 1985 when Urban Ministries of Wake County opened its downtown Open Door Clinic. Alliance Medical Ministry opened in Raleigh last year.
Often their faith draws health-care providers to this role.
"I just had this feeling God wanted me somewhere else," said Melody Foster, a registered nurse who directs the Raleigh Rescue Mission's clinic for 100 people who live there. "I started to pray about it."
At the mission clinic, Foster works with three physician assistants and two doctors who volunteer their time.
"Most everybody who comes in here is broken," she said. "Their hearts are broken, their spirits are broken. ... I am blessed 100 times every day to be able to listen, to be able to hug, to be able to cry with somebody."
58 and growing
The N.C. Association of Free Clinics counts 58 free clinics across the state, said John Mills, director of the association. The association's goal is to expand to 85.
Although not all members are church-based, all have a "physician champion, someone who has taken it upon himself or herself to do something in his or her community," Mills said.
"They realize that they have been blessed. Whether they think there's a creator or not, they still feel fortunate and feel the desire to help others who are less fortunate."
Working in free clinics is not new to Stover, a Louisburg family physician for 20 years. He first worked in a free clinic in Washington, D.C., while in graduate school. "I did it for very selfish reasons," he said, "to get into medical school." He continued his gratis care in medical school and later in Durham. (Raleigh News and Observer, 6/4/04)
2006
MAR 2006 County To Take Over Airport Management
Airport commissioners continue plans for a transition in management, tabbing a subcommittee to oversee the switch.
The airport's current operator, First-in-Flight Aviation, is expected to have either sold out to a county-approved operator by April 1 or the county is expected to take over its own operations by then.
The airport commission hired its own manager, Leigh Osborn, in February, to help the county gain more insight into the airport's day-to-day operations in the event that the county has to either take over the airport's operation or bring in someone to replace the current operator.
In the weeks that Osborn has been on duty, she has begun negotiating a new fuel contract, looked at bringing in a new maintenance provider and worked with County Finance Director Chuck Murray to square finances at the airport.
In the next few weeks, commissioners expect they will have to take an even more involved role in the airport as April 1 approaches.
During the commission's meeting on Wednesday night, the board agreed that its commission chair, Lyn Buffaloe, and board members Don Lancaster and Phillip Stover would work with Osborn to work through the transition.
'We need to be able to work with Leigh day-to-day,' Buffaloe said. 'We need to talk about what we need to be doing, day-to-day.'
The more hands-on approach became necessary after a series of meetings last year revealed that First In Flight was in default of its 40-year contract because of a myriad of shortcomings, including a failure to build more corporate hangars and other breaches of the contract, including an inability to ensure safe use and operation of the airport.
Louisburg Attorney Boyd Sturges, who along with Raleigh attorney R. Bruce Thompson II, represents First In Flight, said the county and its operators continue meaningful negotiations to resolve the matter.
But Sturges did admit that First In Flight will not be involved in day-to-day operations after April 1.
The only question concerns ownership issues.
Sturges said First in Flight still has a lease/hold on some of the property at the airport, including some hangars, that will have to be resolved.
'We remain optimistic that both sides will get a win-win situation,' Sturges said. 'There is a good possibility that's going to happen.
'Both sides are working diligently to finding a good compromise to the disputes.'
Recently, Lancaster said the legal issues require confidentiality but that residents should expect good things to come from airport operations.
Buffaloe said the board may call another meeting before the April 1 transition date.
In other business, Osborn presented the commission with the results of a survey designed to gauge the concerns of those who park planes at the airport.
Fifty surveys were sent out and 23 owners responded, saying for the most part they wanted lower fuel costs, some equipment upgrades and more amenities, including a pilot's lounge or restaurant.
They also wanted the airport to host safety courses and be a site for air shows.
They were also concerned about the status and welfare of Speed Bump, the adopted airport dog that has been around for a decade.
Some of the most pointed concerns revolved around customer service.
Osborn said the equipment concerns were being addressed. Buffaloe said the other concerns would help to serve as a blueprint for future operations.
'We'll take this as a guide for things we need to address,' he said. (Franklin Times, 3/29/06)
2007
FEB 2007 Airport Commission Meeting
Commissioner Don Lancaster resigned his position on the Airport Commission citing a heavy workload and concerns about commissioner service on appointed boards.
When the county reconvened its airport governing board, two commissioners were appointed to the then five-member board.
When it was rechartered to seven members, the board as a whole appointed commissioners Lyn Buffaloe and Don Lancaster while the remaining five commissioners each made an appointment to the Airport Commission.
One of those appointments was Bob Winters and when he won a seat on the county board of commissioners in November, his election meant three members were on the Airport Commission.
On Monday night, the board met at 5 p.m. to let elected commissioners Harry Foy, Penny McGhee-Young and Winters make their appointments to service boards.
That's when Lancaster resigned his Airport Commission position ' giving his appointed airport seat to Winters.
'It was unclear whether we wanted two or three commissioners on the airport board,' said Lancaster, who also serves on the Economic Development Commission, a host of other boards and heads up Union Bank and Trust.
'Bob Winters has done a good job,' Lancaster said. 'And I have a bunch of things on my plate.'
The county's policy for board appointments allows for commissioners to serve, as long as a majority ' four board members ' serve on appointed committees.
Now, commissioners Harry Foy, Penny McGhee-Young and Lancaster have to make appointments or reappointments to the commission.
Airport board members Scott Lerew and Dr. Phillip Stover were appointed by past commissioners Jimmie Gupton and Raymond Stone, respectively, and their service will be decided by McGhee- Young and Lancaster, respectively.
Harry Foy will have to make a new appointment as he was the commissioner who appointed Winters to the board.
Neither McGhee-Young, Lancaster, nor Foy made new appointments on Monday night.
'Board membership, with the exception of Lancaster who resigned, will continue until replacements are made,' said County Manager Chris Coudriet.
Current airport board members are Buffaloe, Winters, Stover, Lerew, Herman Dickens and John Allers.
The new appointments are expected to be made as board members identify those for service.
In other business, commissioners approved incentives to help two Franklin County businesses expand.
First, commissioners agreed to provide Welsh Paper Company $132,000 in incentives for water and sewer extension for an expansion.
The county has a policy that it recoup that investment in at least seven years through the tax generated on the industry that's being supported, but commissioners agreed to extend that period beyond seven years because the total amount would not be recouped in that period.
'With the number of jobs (an additional 75), the current tax base and the longevity of the company, the board decided to suspend the payback policy,' Coudriet said. 'It has done that before.'
Next, commissioners, agreed to provide $157,068.24 in incentives over four years to Southern Lithoplate.
The county also agreed to provide $10,500 for engineering so that county staff could determine the costs associated with extending water and sewer to the location.
The incentives request are covered by a seven-year payback period through taxes generated.
The Franklinton Board of Commissioners withdrew a request to ask county commissioners for a $400,000 loan to improve its sewer system.
The request requires that the Franklinton Town Board officially vote to do so ' during a special called meeting last week, they simply agreed by consensus to do ' and Franklinton Mayor Jenny Edwards said there are some other housekeeping issues the town needed to address.
They were expecting to do that in a meeting this past Tuesday.
'We'll be back,' Edwards told the board of commissioners during its Monday night meeting. (FT, 2/27/07)
APR 2007 Bike Race For Plight of Uninsurced
April 28 ' Race of Grace, Dr. Phil Stover will be riding in a 25-mile bicycle race to bring awareness to the plight of the uninsured in Franklin County and to raise money for the FCVIM clinic. To donate a pledge per mile for his race, call 496-0492.
During April, each town in Franklin County has been ask to sign a proclamation and present it, at a town meeting, to a representative of FCVIM.
These proclamations will show community support to getting all North Carolinians covered as part of Uninsured Week. Franklin County commissioners have also been asked to join this recognition effort. (Franklin Times, 4/4/07)
MAY 2007 Supports New Health Clinic
In other business Franklin County commissioners will be asked to endorse establishing a local health care clinic.
According to the board's agenda packet, the federal government has identified Franklin County as an eligible recipient for funds to establish a clinic, helping the uninsured and under insured.
The Rural Health Group in Roanoke Rapids and Wake Health Services are slated to present commissioners with proposals.
Both are interested in submitting an application to establish a local health care clinic.
Attempts to reach both companies' chief officers were not successful.
Dr. Phil Stover with the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine, which already operates a free clinic to help the uninsured, said such a proposal comes with their blessing.
'We're in negotiations to do a joint venture (with one of them),' Stover said. 'We're very supportive of the effort.'
County Manager Chris Coudriet said that neither of the proposals included a financial request from the county. (FT, 5/18/07)
MAY 2007 Pushing Clinic Grant
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a letter of support Monday night for two health centers applying for a federal grant to establish a qualified health center here.
The Rural Health Group and Wake Health Services both made presentations to the board, asking for the letter, which must be submitted by May 23.
Franklin County Health Director Phillip Tarte said there is a need for an additional clinic to fill the gap left in services not covered by the newly founded free medical clinic or the Department of Health.
He said adult care is needed, as the two existing services cover children's needs adequately.
The most prevalent gaps seem to be in adult medical and dental care, Tarte said.
'We would look to endorse both,' said Tarte. He also stressed that the combination of services between the three organizations should 'complement each other, not compete.'
Franklin County has been identified as an eligible recipient for a grant that would provide up to $600,000 annually for the provision of primary medical, dental and behavioral health services.
The clinic would be targeted to the region's uninsured, under insured, disenfranchised and other groups with barriers to care.
Both organizations have long histories of excellent quality primary care with special emphasis on reaching the under served.
Brian Harris, CEO of the Rural Health Group, which started in Halifax County in 1974, said he wants to 'integrate with existing services.' If their grant is approved, they plan to lease space from the Volunteers in Medicine free clinic and 'grow together.'
Wake Health Services' COO William Massengill promised to provide services to any resident in the area, 'whether you've got money, or whether you're poor.' His plan included collaboration with existing health care providers, the offering of two evening hours per week for those working and having a physician and nurse practitioner available during all clinic hours.
'We believe residents in Franklin County deserve the same health care as those in Raleigh or other areas of Wake County' said Massengill, who has met with county health providers and community leaders over the past weeks to 'develop a grant proposal which is responsive to the needs of this county.'
Dr. Phillip Stover, representing the VIM clinic, was at the meeting to provide additional support for the new clinic.
He said that the free clinic has 'accomplished a lot, but has only scratched the surface' of the need for primary health care in Franklin County.
Stover said the free clinic endorses the Rural Health Group based on several factors, including its philosophy of complement and integration of health services in the county, its experience of working in rural areas and its willingness to 'partner services' such as the free clinic's pharmacy. (FT, 5/22/07)
JUN 2007 As Airport Commissioner, Opposes Congressional Aviation Bill
The Franklin County airport board figures it's time to take a position on an aviation bill that at least one commissioner said could devastate general aviation airports.
U.S. senators Jay Rockefeller, Trent Lott, Daniel K. Inouye and Ted Stevens introduced the Aviation Investment and Modernization Act of 2007 that would, among other things, charge a $25 fee per flight on commercial and high-end general aviation jet flights.
The fee would be used to modernize the air traffic control system.
The bill narrowly made its way out of a Senate finance committee this week.
Proponents of the bill say that 90 percent of general aviation craft would be exempt from the surcharge, but Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover is fearful that such a fee would turn away general aviation flyers — the lifeblood for small ports like the county's.
"General aviation (supporters) are convinced it's a disaster," Stover said during the board's meeting on Tuesday. "It's ruined general aviation in the rest of the world."
He said the fee would be a deterrent for those with smaller planes and smaller budgets who want to fly.
"I think it will have a negative impact on safety," Stover said. "If someone has to pay $25 for a flight plan every time, they just might not file one."
The bill would not affect piston-powered general aviation craft, but it would affect those who fly turbine aircraft.
Airport Director Leigh Osborn said that 90 percent of the 70-plus planes at Franklin County Regional Airport are piston-powered.
The proposed U.S. Senate bill, though, includes fees that cover licensing, medical evaluations and testing.
"As a general aviation proponent, I'm against anything that, in my opinion, would harm general aviation," Osborn said. "We are a general aviation airport and my position is to advocate for that.
"User fees would have some negative impact (on general aviation), but until something is finalized and we know what we're dealing with, it's too soon to take a position."
The board asked staff to provide someone from the state Department of Transportation to more thoroughly inform the board about the proposal at its next meeting.
Following that, the board may consider adopting a letter of support or opposition to the proposal.
"I would hate for us to sit here and not do anything," said Airport Commission Chair Lynwood Buffaloe, "but we need to have further study on something that we'll put our name on."
The Aviation Investment and Modernization Act would reauthorize the FAA's four major accounts: Operations; Facilities & Equipment; the Airport Improvement Program and Research, Engineering and Development at a level of more than $65 billion from 2008 through 2011.
According to the proposed bill, the fee would also dedicate funding of about $400 million annually for modernizing the air traffic control system through the establishment of the Air Traffic Modernization Fund.
The bill would also:
• Provide about $16 billion for airport infrastructure grants and would streamline the passenger facility charge process.
• Strengthen environmental programs, including provisions that would guarantee $300 million annually for airports to address noise and other environmental issues.
• Provide funding for the Essential Air Service program at $133 million annually, an increase of $6 million per year. The act also would provide the DOT with flexibility to encourage better service by incorporating financial incentives into EAS contracts, or signing longer term contracts.
• Restore equity to the air traffic controller collective bargaining process by requiring mediation and arbitration when labor disputes reach an impasse.
"I'd like to see more about this before we take a position," said Airport Commissioner Bob Winters. "We need to have more research and be ready to do a letter, or something." (Franklin Times, 6/1/07)
JUL 2007 Clinic’s Work And Expectations
The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic is doing well and looks toward the future with even greater expectations.
The free clinic, which opened in January 2005, is currently open four nights per month for medical visits, with volunteer doctors providing all medical services, and a full-time mid-level provider is on the way.
"We're beginning interviewing ... for a 40-hour/week physician's assistant or family nurse practitioner position," Beverly Kegley, executive director, said last week.
"We haven't worked out the specifics of the job description yet, but we hope to have daytime clinic hours and be able to treat some acute illnesses as well as chronic ones."
Grant money from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Fund has already been secured to pay for the position for three years.
The three current volunteer health care providers are Dr. Phillip Stover, Dr. Warren Blackburn, and Dr. Andrew Kronenberg.
Also coming on board in August is a retired psychologist, who will be volunteering at the clinic to help with mental health counseling.
Expansion is also in the clinic's future.
With a patient base of more than 500, the current space at 109 Church St. in Louisburg "is in great need of enlargement," Kegley said.
Plans to put a modular unit on Elm Street behind the existing clinic building, on a lot the VIM already owns, are under way.
The unit would house clinical elements — including examination rooms, a lab, a treatment room and nurse's station, while the original building would be offices for employees and volunteers.
VIM currently employs three people; all others working at the clinic are volunteers.
Ann Caron, a retired nurse of 40 years, volunteers at the clinic every week.
"I like to help out whenever I can," Caron said.
"The clinic is very important to both the patients and the county."
"One of the clinic's big community involvement areas is helping keep the hospital's ER freed up," Kegley said.
Patients who cannot afford medical insurance are able to seek treatment at the clinic, instead of waiting until their illness is life threatening and going to the emergency room at FRMC.
Originally from Canada, which has universal health care for all citizens, Caron said as long as the United States continues to have private health care there will be people in need of medical services who can't afford them, and consequently there will be a need for free health clinics.
VIM also has a pharmacy, open Tuesday and Thursday 12 to 4 p.m., where patients pick up prescriptions.
Most patients qualify for free brand name prescription drugs through programs offered by the companies, and heavily discounted generic prescriptions are offered through the Rx Outreach program.
The VIM food pantry at the Murphy House loading dock in Louisburg is open Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
"The pantry is one of our most important endeavors," Kegley said.
In April, VIM brought the Rex Healthcare Mobile Mammography bus to the clinic, and 25 women received free mammograms.
The bus will be back in September.
The group also plans satellite clinics around the county.
Though it provides many services, the clinic is limited in the scope of medical issues it can address.
The clinic can only see patients with chronic illnesses, an issue that VIM volunteers and employees find very hard to deal with.
"It's so hard to tell someone ‘We can't help you,'" Kegley said.
"What are they going to do?"
Coran, who makes appointments while volunteering at the clinic, said she would love to say to every sick person who calls in "Sure, we can help you, come on in."
But she can't.
VIM hopes with the addition of the mid-level provider, they can see more patients with acute illnesses helped.
"We're always thinking, ‘If we could just do more,'" Kegley said.
With the numerous facets of the VIM organization, money is always an area of concern.
Kegley said the clinic has done pretty well so far with grants and donations, but the "magic three years" of start-up money is nearing an end.
The clinic is still getting grants, but they are often for specific purposes and can't be used for operational costs.
"We get money for nutrition education classes and other specific areas, but we still need money just to keep the lights on," Kegley said.
"In addition to hosting five fund-raisers before the end of the year, we're sending out letters to churches, businesses and individuals, hoping they will get behind the clinic and support it."
Kegley said a lot of people in the area don't really understand the clinic, its mission, and who it helps.
"We're helping adults, which is a lot harder to sell to the public than pediatric care," Kegley said.
"There's no poster child for uninsured adults."
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the main health problems the VIM deals with.
"If the mom and dad in a family aren't healthy, then the whole family suffers," Kegley said.
"They have to wonder, ‘Do I buy food or medicine this week?'"
Nine out of 10 patients at the VIM are employed, but their jobs don't pay for medical insurance, and they don't qualify for Medicare or Medicaid, Kegley said.
"If these people aren't healthy, that takes a lot of our area's workforce away."
But much more important than the economic impact, Kegley insists, is "we have a moral and ethical obligation to treat them."
"If we don't, we either see them at the ER or their name in the obituaries."
Many patients become volunteers to "give back" to the clinic that helped them out when they needed it the most.
VIM welcome the public to come and visit.
"If you don't understand what we're about, please call or drop by," Kegley said.
The community is urged to donate time or money.
"You never know when you or someone you know will need the VIM clinic," Kegley said.
The clinic's current hours are 6 to 9 p.m. on the first, third and fourth Tuesday of each month and the second Thursday of each month.
The office is open five days a week to answer questions and make appointments; call (919) 496-0492 for more information. (FT, 7/11/07)
AUG 2007 Airport Commission Adopts Field Maintenance Program
The county's Airport Commission adopted an aggressive field maintenance program on Tuesday, addressing concerns about pilot safety, aesthetics and economic development that cropped up last week.
Former airport groundskeeper Shane Mitchell expressed concerns about upkeep during the Franklin County Commission's Aug. 6 meeting and former Airport Commission member and Commissioner Don Lancaster suggested that the board further discuss the matter at another meeting.
The Airport Commission discussed the matter during its meeting on Tuesday, and Director Leigh Osborn presented the board with a field maintenance protocol that she said would address all concerns.
Mitchell, who attended the meeting, agreed.
"I'm glad to see it," Mitchell said. "But it's something that should have been done a year or two ago."
During the county's Aug. 6 meeting, Mitchell said he was aware that the grounds caused concern for someone looking to locate at the adjacent hub site location.
A former employer also told him that an inspector with the Federal Aviation Agency warned the airport that they could face fines if the area around a weather observation system was not mowed properly.
And the Airport Commission has always been aware that unkempt grass at the airport attracts rodents and other animals that attract birds near the runway. Such a nuisance is dangerous for pilots.
Economic Development Director Ronnie Goswick has said a businessman expressed the same concerns about the airport's appearance, however, it would not prevent him from doing business there.
The county's legal representation at the meeting, David Guin, confirmed that there were concerns about grass height around a piece of weather equipment, but that was rectified immediately.
The airport was never in any danger of being shut down, he said.
And Osborn said the grass cutting scheduled adopted by the Airport Commission on Tuesday evening would address any other concerns.
"I think this addresses safety, the potential for business prospects and aesthetics," said Airport Commission Chair Lyn Buffaloe.
Airport Commissioner Bob Winters cast the lone dissenting vote. He said the cutting plan did not address spraying to cut down on weeds.
Osborn said spraying causes runoff problems, and it also creates problems for the fencing.
The cutting schedule, as it was adopted, would require cutting the areas around the runway, hangars and exterior fence road frontage once a week.
The interior fence road frontage, the area around the corporate hangars, the grass between the hangars and the taxiway, the area behind the fuel farm and the area 50 feet from the runway on the East side of the field would be cut once every two weeks.
The area more than 50 feet from the runway would be cut once a month.
The area at the north end of the field and areas around the pond would be cut every six weeks or as needed.
The 80 acres across from Sam Horton Road, the board agreed, could be managed on a quarterly basis.
The board agreed it didn't need to be cut more because the higher grass in that area doesn't attract birds. The airport's consultant, Terry Bumpus, said birds don't like to flock in high grass because it is difficult for them to see predators.
"The cutting schedule is something we can keep up with as a staff," Osborn said.
County Manager Chris Coudriet, who attended the meeting, said the schedule was ambitious and needs to be.
"It's important to economic development," Coudriet said. "It'll be the primary access point to the hub.
"It's important for safety and aesthetics, but we have to balance that with the needs of economic development," he said. "That speaks to the aggressiveness of the plan."
Airport Commission members Winters and Dr. Phil Stover suggested that some money come out of the county's economic development budget to meet their mowing needs.
Coudriet said that could be pursued.
As part of Lancaster's request to further address Mitchell's concerns, the Airport Commission said it would request to make a presentation to commissioners during the board's Sept. 17 meeting.
The board took another action to address operations at the airport.
During a meeting in July, Osborn and the Airport Commission discussed operation limitations resulting from the county's budget.
Osborn requested money in this current budget to hire another full-time employee, but commissioners did not grant the request.
At the July meeting, Osborn and airport commissioners talked about how a lack of manpower effects services at the airport.
By unanimous vote on Tuesday, the board agreed to pursue hiring another full-time person once the county's hiring freeze ends — perhaps in mid-October.
"The airport is a service intensive activity," Stover said. "Pilots are demanding.
"... I think the service here has improved, but it's just the beginning," he said. "The number of planes here has doubled within a year, but we want to triple or quadruple that.
"(Osborn) needs to be out attracting business, not cutting grass," Stover said. "She needs to be marketing and directing, and I think we're squandering her capabilities.
"Pumping gas and cutting the grass doesn't need to be Leigh, at least not all the time," Stover said.
Airport Commissioner Herman Dickens agreed.
"It's almost an embarrassment having our director cut grass," he said. "But if we're going to support her and this airport, we need that other position."
The board voted unanimously to pursue hiring a full-time person.
County Finance Director Chuck Murray said the position would require an extra $10,000 from the county for fringe benefits if the department used available part-time salary to convert a part-time position into a full-time position.
The County Board of Commissioners would have to approve the expense.
In other business, the board agreed to make as part of its presentation to commissioners on Sept. 17 a $2,000 request from the Civil Air Patrol. The organization has decided to base its operations at Franklin County Regional Airport and asked the Airport Commission for money to provide cadets with uniforms and other supplies.
The Airport Commission has agreed to make that request known to county commissioners during the Sept. 17 meeting.
During an allowed public comment during the meeting, County Commissioner Penny McGhee-Young advised the board that it may want to re-examine its plans to extend the runway to service corporate jets.
The county has made its request for funding through the state Department of Transportation's Aviation Division's Transportation Improvement Plan.
McGhee-Young cited an article in The News and Observer this week that outlined the boom of corporate jets using small, general aviation airports.
Wake County commissioners are looking at two sites in east Wake for a $40 million airport facility — its first since Raleigh-Durham International opened in 1943.
The county is looking at federal funding for the project, as much as 90 percent.
McGhee-Young said the county may want to take a renewed effort to receive federal funding if it appears that Wake County would be able to receive such a high amount of funding — particularly being so close to Franklin County's airport.
"I think this is something we may want to take another look at," she said. (Franklin Times, 8/17/07)
2008
MAR 2008 Concerned About Wake Health Services
Volunteers in Medicine want to use office space where the parole office is on Nash Street.
Volunteers in Medicine staff said they needed the business space anyway, but it would also allow Wake Health Services of Raleigh to operate a health clinic inside the Volunteers in Medicine space during the day.
Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) operates its free clinic in the evening.
VIM representatives Dr. Phillip Stover and Beverly Kegley, though, did express concern about Wake Health Services.
The group received a federal grant to provide care for the uninsured and under served residents of Franklin County, however, six months after receiving the federal grant, they have not begun service.
"It's baffling," Stover conceded.
VIM supported another group that wanted to provide the same coverage, however, Wake Health Services received the grant. Stover said their concerns were not purely out of an allegiance to competing Rural Health Group.
"We're willing to work with anyone because our people desperately need it," Stover said.
Commissioners requested that representatives with Wake Health Services come to the next board meeting to discuss the delay.
David Bowman with the federal office of Health Resources and Services Administration said Wake Health Services funding is still in place through extensions, which he said is a "fairly common occurrence."
Copies of the extensions were not immediately available.
"HRSA is satisfied that the grantee is meeting the requirements of this grant award and is supportive of their plan to provide access to primary care services in Franklin County," Bowman said.
The original federal application had WHS locating in the church building of Franklin County Commissioner Sidney Dunston, who supported the WHS application.
Bowman said the VIM location would be a temporary site as WHS seeks a permanent location. (FT, 3/18/08)
APR 2008 WHS Clinic Still On Track
Representatives with Wake Health Services say they are still committed to bringing a clinic to Franklin County.
The agency was a topic of discussion last month when operators of the county's free clinic — Volunteers in Medicine — questioned the delay in Wake Health Services' operations.
The Raleigh company expected to begin work at the start of the year, however, they have faced delays in finding an adequate location.
Operating under a federal grant for this project, WHS has been granted an extension for construction start-up.
Under the extension, WHS has until July to find a place to operate a proposed clinic for indigent care.
"Our commitment has in no way changed," said WHS CEO Penny Washington. "We are looking for an appropriate home for our service and hire staff and get things started. That hasn't changed."
Franklin County commissioners have asked WHS' representatives to be at their Monday night meeting to apprise them of their progress.
Volunteers in Medicine said it has offered to let WHS use its clinic location during the day as VIM sees patients at night.
VIM has also offered WHS other symbiotic relationships that, for a time, had been rebuffed.
VIM organizer Dr. Phillip Stover said a recent meeting appeared to iron out some issues.
"(Wake Health Services) met with our staff and some issues were assuaged," Stover said.
WHS did not want to discuss specific matters until Monday night. (FT, 4/4/08)
JUN 2008 Airport Commission Meeting
A pilot who alleges his estranged wife and former county airport director sabotaged his plane is asking Franklin County to make it right.
At Tuesday's Airport Commission meeting, Rod Osborn said he is concerned that former Airport Director Leigh Osborn did more than remove the propeller from his plane earlier this spring.
Leigh Osborn resigned her position the same day that sheriff's deputies served warrants for her arrest on the charge.
At the meeting, Rod Osborn said he wouldn't feel comfortable flying the craft until a complete diagnostic was conducted on the plane.
He intimated that he wanted the county to pay for the service because it was ultimately responsible for actions Leigh Osborn made at the airport as its director.
"In my opinion, I've got a pile of airplane parts sitting out on that field," Rod Osborn said. "People might think that once I get the prop back, you just slap it back on and its good as gold.
"I don't feel that way," he said. "The plane is sabotaged. I don't know what else she has done to the craft," he said. "I don't want to be on that first flight."
Osborn said the only way he'd feel safe is if a complete inspection were performed on the plane and it was made certain that the craft is 100 percent flyable.
"I want you to think about it and make it right for my family," Osborn said.
Osborn never directly said he wanted the county to cover those costs, but he intimated as much.
He also said he was not threatening the county and was not planning litigation, but he wanted the county to address his problem.
"I have to do what I have to do," Rod Osborn said.
Attorney David Guin, the county's legal representative for airport matters, said the county is under no obligation to cover Rod Osborn's inspection.
"To say that the county is liable and responsible is patently unfair and not correct," Guin said.
"... If you want to pursue issues of liability, it is with (Leigh Osborn), not with us."
Still, Guin said that if Rod Osborn wanted to make a formal request of the county, he could do so in writing and they would consider it.
Rod Osborn also said that he would be concerned about keeping his plane at the airport because he said the fact that his propeller was removed was evidence of poor security at the airport.
Airport commissioners took umbrage with Rod Osborn's accusation.
"When there were reports of break-ins and vandalism at airports along the eastern seaboard, we didn't have a loss of a single item," said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover.
In other business, the airport commissioner firmed up plans to find a new airport director.
The board decided to go with already established requirements for the position, but included requirements that the newly hired person develop standard operating procedures concerning airport operations, cross train all staff members and provide updates of the budget, leases, fees, regulatory inspections and other relative aviation information during Airport Commission meetings.
The board plans to begin advertising the position on the county's website, statewide news media and state, regional and national aviation publications.
"It hasn't been advertised yet, and we've already gotten good response," said Commission Chairman John Allers.
The board plans to advertise the position for 30 days and let a subcommittee, paired with county human resource staff and an aviation consultant, whittle the resumes down to the top three.
Airport Commissioner Bob Winters asked the board whether it wants to consider another fixed base operator — a management arrangement the county had prior to assuming airport operations more than two years ago.
Guin told Winters that an apparent interest by a fixed base operator that approached the county had waned.
No DOT Dollars
Airport aviation consultant Dain Riley informed the Commission that the airport did not receive $250,000 in state Department of Transportation Aviation funding as part of plans to extend the runway.
Riley suggested that the Commission try a new approach, promoting the runway expansion project as a terminal expansion project.
Riley said the airport would not be losing sight of extending the runway, which would make the airport capable of handing larger jets.
However, tying the funds to a terminal expansion — the airport is out of hangar space for planes — would be more acceptable by the state, Riley said.
He has set up a June 26 meeting with the director of the division of aviation to discuss the prospect of funding.
Riley asked commissioners to encourage their federal legislators to provide funding for expansion.
"This approach is more palatable," Riley said.
Representatives from the Wake County Department of Corrections talked about the availability of free labor at the airport. The officers attended at the request of Airport Commissioner Steve Trubilla, who initiated the discussion at a prior board meeting.
DOC Facility Superintendent James Langston told the Commission that it could make requests for inmates to perform maintenance and other duties, such as grass cutting at the airport.
The Commission also scheduled a retreat session for July 23 from 4-8 p.m., tentatively at Joey's Italian Chophouse.
Commissioners said they want to use the retreat to discuss matters that are not fully fleshed out at regular commission meetings. (Franklin Times, 6/13/08)
JUL 2008 Airport Commission Meeting
The prospect of using a fixed-base operator to manage the county's airport took flight Tuesday during a Airport Commission meeting.
Former Airport Director Leigh Osborn resigned her post in May and the Airport Commission has tapped a subcommittee to spearhead replacement duties.
Prior to Osborn being hired in the spring of 2006, the airport was managed by FBO First in Flight.
The county ended that relationship after alleging that the management company did not follow through on promises, including the construction of new airplane hangars.
When Osborn quit, no FBO expressed significant interest, but since the position has been advertised, airport commissioners confirmed that at least three have submitted resumes.
That led the board to discuss whether they wanted to bring in another FBO and nix the idea of an airport manager.
"We do not need to be without a (county) person here," said Airport Commissioner Lyn Buffaloe.
Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover agreed.
"That's how we got in trouble before because we had a wolf guarding the hen house," Stover said. "
Commissioners said if they decided to go with an FBO, it would temper the responsibilities of a county-hired airport manager.
The goal, though, would be having someone who is watching out for the county's interest at the airport.
"We could set it up so that we have access to every document they have," said Economic Development Director Ronnie Goswick, who is serving as the interim airport director.
The Airport Commission, though, was not ready to commit on bringing in another FBO or simply going with its own manager.
"We have to look at what the pluses and minuses are," said Airport Commissioner Steve Trubilla.
An FBO, though, has advantages that an entirely county-run operation would not, said Airport Commissioner Bob Winters, who is also a county commissioner.
"They would have a global perspective," Winters said. "And they could bring in a whole lot more business through their networking. They can bring more in."
And if it's a healthy FBO, it could also have the capital necessary — which the county doesn't — to take on expansion projects.
"The county is not setup to be in the enterprise business," Buffaloe said. "... We're limited to the use of bonds and the ability of both commissions to work together.
"An FBO could have the financial resources and ability to do things we can't."
The only commitment the board made on Tuesday was to look at it more.
So far, the director's position has generated 17 applications. The time for applications closes on July 16.
In other business, the commission discussed its retreat session, scheduled for July 23 at Joey's Italian Chophouse.
Tentatively, the agenda includes long-range planning, marketing, establishing a legislative plan and more opportunities to showcase the airport to the community.
The meeting is slated to begin at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. Dinner will be dutch.
The board also talked about the possibility of renaming the airport. It was renamed to the Franklin County Regional Airport some time ago to give the place a broader appeal.
Commissioners said it might be worth renaming the airport, possibly tieing itself in with its hub site, Triangle North Franklin, or some other way with the Research Triangle Park.
"I don't know what the right name is," Buffaloe said, "but it is something we need to think about."
Inmates from the state Department of Corrections are slated to come to the airport on July 28-31 to cut grass and perform other maintenance at the location. (Franklin Times, 7/11/08)
AUG 2008 Denounces Lack of Universal Health Care
Franklin Regional Medical Center presented the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine with a $20,000 check that will allow the free clinic to help more people.
The free clinic began operating in January of 2005 and has a recurring patient list of almost 700 people.
The clinic was established to help the roughly 8,000 uninsured and under-served residents handle non-emergency issues and manage chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes.
During a Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours social event on Thursday, hospital staff presented Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) staff with the check.
"The lack of universal health care in this country is a moral catastrophe," said Dr. Philip Stover, a VIM founder and doctor at the clinic. "If people get sick and they don't have health care, they can't work and they can't support their families.
"We could tell stories all day about the lack of health care that would break your heart," Stover said. "... This support means a lot to our clinic.
"Hopefully, it'll be the beginning of a long-term relationship," he said. "We couldn't have this clinic without the support of the doctors here who help."
FRMC CEO Mike McNair said the decision to help Volunteers in Medicine was an easy one.
"We're glad that this hospital is part of this," he said.
Currently, the hospital spends about $15 million of its own money in what is called charity care — money it does not get back for services provided to the uninsured or under-insured who come through their emergency room doors.
Services provided by VIM could help the hospital's bottom line because some of those patients could get care to keep their medical problems in check.
Stover, though, said FRMC's involvement is about more than their bottom line.
"It's a financial thing, but it's a moral thing, also," he said. "When you can appeal to both of those, it's a good thing."
The clinic has five doctors and countless nurses who volunteer.
The free clinic, is at 109 Church St. in Louisburg, and service is by appointment only.
The hours of operation are Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays beginning at 10:30 a.m. (FT, 8/19/08)
SEP 2008 Airport Commission Meeting
The Franklin County Airport Commission committed to moving forward with plans that could bring in a national aviation event.
Organizers of the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In spoke to airport members Sept. 9 about the event, which has become the second largest aviation convention of its kind.
The nearly week-long event, which began 34 years ago, brings in pilots and planes from across the world to take part in forums, entertainment, air shows and educational opportunities.
One of the coordinators of the event, based in Lakeland, Fla, said at its height, the convention could bring hundreds of people and planes to Franklin County.
"I know it's hard to believe that people would be willing to fly in from California, use portable showers, sleep in a tent and spend their time volunteering getting sunburnt and love every minute of it," said pilot and volunteer Mack Denmark, "but they do."
Bringing the event to Franklin County would take some doing, however.
One of the event's coordinators, Dale Fox, said the Franklin County Regional Airport could host 500 airplanes with minor improvements to the field.
Airport Commissioner Bob Winters wondered whether the airport and Franklin County could practically host such an extensive event.
"We only have a few motels in Franklin County," he said, "and then we're getting out into Wakefield or Rocky Mount."
As far as the pilots, they are accustomed to Spartan conditions, Fox said.
"Twenty-five percent camp out," he said. "And they're used to using portable toilets and showers."
And they're used to staying a good distance away from an event.
The event does come at a cost, though.
While a majority of the legwork, planning, coordination and event-day activity is handled by volunteers, there is overhead to pull it all together.
Fox said it would cost between $200,000 to $250,000 to do the event correctly.
"It's not inexpensive," he said.
Interim Airport Director Ronnie Goswick said there may be some state Department of Transportation aviation grants available to help.
And Fox said that in its history, by year seven through 10, the event begins to turn a profit.
"It takes that long before it stands on its own," Fox said.
If properly handled and executed, such an annual event could begin to generate a revenue that the airport could come to rely upon.
The upfront money, though, would have to be approved by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
Before going to that board, the airport commission agreed to examine the matter further and get more concrete fiscal information before taking the matter before the county's governing board.
"Before we go to the board, we need to have sound projections," said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover. "We know there will certainly be some skeptics on the (county) board, but on the other hand, this is a real opportunity.
"I move we pursue this."
That action was unanimous.
There was no time line as to when the matter will come back before the airport commission or when it will take the matter to county commissioners.
"I'm ready to meet with county commissioners and talk with them about this whenever we can do it," Fox said. (Franklin Times, 9/11/08)
DEC 2008 Hosted Clinton at Home
• Elections. The national presidential election energized many voters in Franklin County, where the Democratic headquarters turned into Barack Obama central.
An organized voter registration campaign by Democrats — many of them paid by the Obama "Change" effort — brought two challenges before the Board of Elections about solicitations within the voting areas.
Earlier in the year, President Bill Clinton stumped for his wife Hillary, who was up against Obama in the primary. Clinton came to Louisburg and met a crowd at the home of Judy and Phil Stover. (Franklin Times, 12/30/08)
2009
JAN 2009 Airport Commission Meeting
The Franklin County Airport Commission decided to slow down on one capital project and get more information on another — much to the chagrin of the only pilot on the committee who attended.
For more than a year, the board has discussed the prospect of placing self-serve fuel equipment at the airport, giving pilots the freedom to fill-up 24/7 while freeing airport staff from the duty.
During a Jan. 12 meeting, representatives with the airport's consultant group presented the board with bids for the project, the lowest being $185,000.
Airport Commissioner and pilot Dr. Phil Stover made a motion to accept the bids, giving consultants LPA Group the wiggle room to negotiate the price down as much as possible.
His motion, though, never received a second once the board began discussing — at Airport Manager Rob Southerland's request — the benefits of building a new box hangar, which could house corporate jets.
Southerland's rationale was that the hangar, which costs most — about $600,000 — would generate more revenue for the airport than a self-serve fuel system could.
That project, Southerland said, could be funded through state aviation grants, which require a county match of about $16,666, as well as available airport funds and expected revenue from this year.
"Recently, I had conversations about housing a Citation 2 and 340 (both larger business jets)," Southerland said. "That's $2-million worth of planes, but we have no where to put anything like that."
Although the corporate hangar could provide the airport with revenue, Stover said now is the time to fulfill a project that the airport's based and transient pilots said was a top priority.
"I think self-serve is a bigger issue," Stover said. "I think it is an attraction for the airport. I think we need to move forward."
Deciding not to move forward with a vote, he said, would be the second time that the Airport Commission has stepped on the toes of pilots.
The first was when the board gave its recommendation to allow a skydiving operation at the airport.
"Building the hangars (instead of self-serve) would be a kick in the teeth for the pilots on this field.
Stover said the pilot in him is concerned about the potential negative impact that a skydiving operation could have on pilots, but the commissioner in him realizes the fiscal and general interest a skydiving operation could provide for the airport.
However, losing momentum right now would be wrong, he said.
"We've been talking about this for a year and we get to the point of doing it and then you want to push it off a year," he said. "We'd be going against the people who keep supporting this airport."
Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Bob Winters took exception to that characterization, reminding the board that taxpayers have bore the brunt of supporting the airport from its inception in 1988.
From 1994 through 2005, the county had spent more than $400,000 at the airport, which did not begin to break even until about a year later.
To that end, airport commissioners began to shift more to the idea of building the new hangars, which could generate revenue.
The fuel farm would take more than 100 years to pay back the investment.
A fully stocked corporate hanger, he said, could generate $12,000 a year in ad valorem taxes, alone.
"I'm not trying to put a monkey wrench in the works," Southerland said of the momentum that appears to have delayed with the self-serve operation. "I'm not for or against self-serve or the hangars.
"I just want to look at this as a business and put all the options out there."
After Stover's motion died for lack of a second, newly appointed Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Don Lancaster made a motion to put the corporate hangar project out to bid.
He didn't say it had to be at the expense of the self-serve project, though.
Perhaps, the board could do both. "You all asked for a priority," Lancaster said, "and I support building the hangars."
The bids for the self-serve operation, said LPA Group representative Terry Bumpus, were good for 90 days.
So, they can still negotiate that project while also submitting bids for the hangar project.
Depending on funding sources and options, the board could try to do both, but the priority during the meeting was in support of the hangars.
Stover still made his objections known as he was the lone dissenter to Lancaster's motion.
"(Self-serve) was something pilots were looking forward to, and we've been working on it since I've been on the board," he said. "We kept putting it off, but now here we are with bids and ready to get shovels out and then we decide to go in another direction.
"I disagree."
Although Stover said pilots have expressed some negativity toward a proposal by Triangle Skydiving Center (TSC) to operate at the airport, Southerland said any kinks in the operation are being worked out by TSC, airport staff, pilots and anyone else interested in the project.
Lancaster said that was a relief, because as a county commissioner, he would not have supported a project that created such animosity between TSC, other businesses at the airport and pilots.
"I take exception to the comment that it was a kick in the teeth to pilots," Lancaster said.
"The concerns pilots had," Southerland said, "we are addressing."
Airport commissioners also expect to have representatives from a group wanting to bring an aviation museum and air convention to the airport.
Commissioners said there have been conflicting stories about the project, and a meeting of the minds could provide some clarification. (Franklin Times, 1/23/09)
FEB 2009 Airport Commission Meeting
Airport staff and officials continue to work through surprising issues regarding two proposed ventures at the airport.
In November, county commissioners approved in concept plans that could bring an aviation convention, museum and air show to the county's airport.
A month later, they also directed staff to move forward with plans that would bring a skydiving operation to its Triangle North Executive Airport.
During its meeting on Tuesday, some airport commissioners said they were stunned to hear that First N Flight Air Convention Corporation, the group behind the air museum, is also considering taking the venture to Lee County.
As for the skydiving venture, pilots had already expressed trepidation about its impact, but those issues have yet to be worked out a month later.
Both matters drew considerable discussion during the airport commission's meeting on Tuesday.
Aviation convention organizer Mack Denmark said they had always expressed that, initially, they considered about eight airports. Now, they've narrowed their selection to two — Franklin and Lee counties.
"When you presented it, you said this is where you want to be," said Airport Commission Chairman John Allers. "There was no mention of competition, or what have you.
"We took a vote (to approve this) in good faith," Allers said. "When we found out about Lee County, there were a lot of people upset, me included.
"You never told us it was a competition."
Denmark said there was just some apparent miscommunication.
"I apologize for that," Denmark said.
That was not the case, though, with representatives in Lee County, who are aware what they are up against for the project.
Dan Swanson, manager of the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport, said First N Flight representatives approached airport staff and airport authority members about two months ago.
Swanson said the group was always upfront about the fact that they were considering Franklin County for the project.
"They have had some unofficial meetings with folks on the airport authority but it was not to the point where they committed to anything," Swanson said. "Everyone was just feeling things out seeing if it would work.
"We knew about Franklin County and that they were checking other areas."
Swanson said the project is a good idea, no matter where it happens.
"I would certainly say anything that would promote aviation would be positive," he said.
Denmark said he expects Franklin County will be the home of the convention.
He said the Sanford area is already flush with economic development and organizers are interested in placing the convention in a place that would benefit.
"Lee County has some advantages and some want to see it there," Denmark said of his First N Flight partners.
"It's tough to bring in half a million people to a convention on a two-lane road," he said of U.S. 401, "but ya'll need the show here."
Franklin County has not committed any funding to the project and Denmark said the county is not expected to do so.
He did say, though, that attempts to get corporate sponsorships and other donations is tougher in this economic climate.
"I've talked with people that could and will, I think, fund the whole thing," he said.
Airport commissioners told Denmark that their questions should not be construed as any sign that they want to back out of the project.
"I just think we need to keep the lines of communication open," said Airport Commissioner Bob Winters.
Denmark agreed.
"We've got to work together to get this done," he said.
Denmark did not give an exact timetable for a decision, but he said it could within the next couple of months.
Skydiving
Communications continue with the skydiving proposal with Triangle Skydiving Center.
Since county commissioners agreed to move forward with plans to bring Triangle Skydiving Center to Franklin County, airport staff, pilots and TSC representatives have been trying to work out a plan by which jumps don't interfere with other airport operations, such as takeoffs, landings and flight-school operations.
Pilots said most of their concerns have been addressed, however one major point is in contention — the real possibility of intersecting flight paths between aircraft and jump operations.
"... We believe through months of additional discussions, education and feedback that there are still considerable concerns on the impact, both safety and economic, of operating such a complex flight environment," said Louisburg Airport Pilot's Association President Chuck Rinker.
The statement represents the feelings of the association's 30 members, said Michael Colclough, who delivered the statement in Rinker's place on Tuesday.
Because of those concerns, the agreement — which would essentially clear the way for the project — has not been signed by all parties.
Airport Director Rob Southerland said the matter deserves more time for discussion.
"Bottom line is, I think we should continue discussions and get input," he said. "This is something I think we can get past."
Other Business
In other business, airport commissioners agreed to let airport consultants move forward with plans to solicit bids for a corporate hangar.
At its last meeting, the board agreed that the hangar project was a priority over a self-service fuel operation at the airport — even though the fuel project had already been bid.
Airport staff and commissioners say the hangars could generate revenue, a better fiscal decision for the airport.
"It seems like our goal should be cash flow positive," said Winters. "The faster way to do that is with the hangar."
The decision was unanimous, although Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover, a pilot, was upset that the board had halted the fuel farm project after it had been discussed for more than a year and was a board decision away from becoming a reality.
The hanger project is budgeted at $600,000, but staff and consultants figure and hope it can be done cheaper.
Airport commissioners also adopted a landing fee at the airport.
By unanimous decision, they agreed to charge operators of turbine (jet) aircraft $125 to land at the airport.
Staff suggested the fee because, often, larger jets land at the airport and its operators don't buy gas, but use the airport's amenities, such as its lounge or courtesy car.
Commissioners said it was only fair that they charge a fee for larger crafts, because the heavier planes do more damage to the runway, requiring more maintenance costs.
Surrounding airports charge similar fees, Southerland said, and often, operators of jets expect a fee.
The fee, as it was set, requires jet operators to pay the fee, or purchase 100 gallons of gasoline. (FT, 2/13/09)
MAR 2009 Airport Commission Meeting
The Franklin County Airport Commission agreed to move forward with a business plan they expect would turn the airport into a revenue generator.
To do that, the commission will begin doing the homework necessary to convince county commissioners to operate the airport as a business enterprise.
Currently, the airport operates on a $680,000 budget, the majority of which — $380,000 — covers fuel purchases. The next highest expense is full-time and part-time salaries.
Such a designation would allow the airport's manager and its commission to reinvest profits and ad valorem taxes into the airport — rather than putting those monies back into the county's general fund.
"If it's going to grow, we have to pump money back into the airport," said Airport and County Commissioner Don Lancaster.
Currently, the airport receives operational funding through the county's budget — which covers salaries, maintenance and other necessities to operate the airport.
The airport has to rely on state Department of Transportation aviation monies to cover facility upgrades and expansion.
According to the preliminary tenets of the business plan, within one to three years, the airport has a goal of building two corporate hangars and get three jet aircraft to base at the airport.
Such an investment would generate about $115,000 in tax revenue, as well as $750,000 in annual revenues, which would include fuel sales.
The airport could also become the home of an eating establishment, an aviation park for children and a partner with First N Flight for a convention and air show.
The long-term goals include four sets of corporate hangars, a new set of T-hangars, six jet aircraft and a total of 100 based aircraft.
Such development could generate about $175,000 in tax revenue and $1 million in annual revenues, which would include fuel sales.
Those long-range goals include the continuation of the air show and convention and a new maintenance hangar, if needed.
The new hangars would be impossible, staff said, under the current budget setup.
Facility improvements, expansions or construction comes from DOT funds, which are limited to about $166,000 a year — not enough to build the hangars needed to draw corporate jets to the airport, officials and staff said.
Corporate hangars generally cost at least $600,000.
"You're asking the airport to grow on $166,000 a year," said Airport Manager Rob Southerland. "The airport needs a cash influx."
Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Bob Winters agreed, but he was the lone dissenter on the motion to proceed with plans to turn the airport into an enterprise operation.
He didn't disagree with the proposal, but he had a problem with using ad valorem taxes for airport expense and wanted to place a cap on revenues available to the airport.
Winters said taxpayers have supported the airport since its inception and until only recently, the airport has broken even.
He said residents, many of whom will never use the airport, need assurances that they will benefit from a better airport — such as money going back into the general fund.
"I just think taxpayers have invested a lot and citizens need to start being paid back," Winters said. "I don't see how they are being paid back."
County Manager Angela Harris, who attended the meeting, said she understood Winters' concern.
"I can see the argument where a lot of taxpayers would see this as a diversion of tax dollars," Harris said. "If you don't explain what they'll be getting and why you need to do it, they'll see it as more money pumped into the airport."
He said placing a cap, perhaps $1 million, would be a good approach. That way, the airport could receive revenues it needs to operate and revenue beyond $1 million would be returned to the county's general fund.
An improving general fund helps taxpayers because a good savings account means the county could entertain lowered taxes.
"Citizens who never even come to the airport need to see some benefit," Winters said.
With his input, airport commissioners agreed to meet in subcommittee, to continue to flesh out their proposal to operate as a business enterprise.
Talks could lead to a cap.
Also, the board wants to make sure it has all of its ducks in a row, particularly when it comes to information about the airport's economic impact on the county, before they make their presentation to county commissioners.
"There will be skeptics," said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover. "We have to get hard numbers to show we are good stewards of the county's tax dollars."
It was not clear when the matter would go before county commissioners.
Even if the airport began to operate as a business enterprise, the airport commission and county commissioners, staff said, would have oversight on expenditures.
"The money would be very carefully managed," said Richie Duncan, the county's existing industries coordinator and partner in developing the business plan.
In her presentation, Duncan noted that surrounding airports Lee County and Johnston County have some form of setup where revenues and/or taxes go into the operation of those airports — which are self-sustaining.
Rocky Mount/Wilson Airport's taxes and revenues go to Nash County, according to Duncan's presentation. That airport is not self-sustaining.
"Airports that reinvest have an atmosphere of growth," Duncan said.
"That would give us a leg up." (FT, 3/13/09)
MAR 2009 Free Clinic Needs Help
Franklin County's free clinic is not necessarily on life-support, but its founders could use some infusion of funds — stat.
Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine has served uninsured and underserved residents for five years, and the clinic is facing a budget crunch unlike anything it's faced before.
The clinic began with start-up grants, and now, half a decade into its existence, grants account for 75 percent of operations.
Essentially, the grants were intended for startup and new programs — not necessarily day-to-day operations.
Without an influx of private donations — which now account for 25 percent of the clinic's budget when it should be 75 percent — the clinic could face serious problems this summer.
"We do not know after June 30 how we will fund the clinic," said Volunteers in Medicine Executive Director Beverly Kegley.
"That is not to say that there are not things in the hopper, and it's not to say it will close, but after June 30, as funding is now, we do not know how we will fund the clinic after that. We've never been in this position before."
Kegley said the clinic is committed to staying open, but admits it will be increasingly difficult in the coming months.
The clinic has a current budget of $252,000, the lion's share of which covers matching funds for a mid-level provider to help the clinic handle a backlog of patients, and matching funds to cover a behavioral therapist position provided by Five County Mental Health.
Funding for those two positions account for about $125,000, Kegley said.
The rest of the money is split between two full-time positions, including Kegley's, and operations, including utilities.
The clinic received a $20,000 donation this year from Franklin Regional Medical Center and HON contributed $10,000.
Kegley said they've relied on donations from Wal-Mart, a private donor with $5,000 and a few people at the $1,000 range and some churches at the $100 to $500 range.
Also, Franklin County has provided continual funding, most recently at the $10,000 level.
But the clinic needs more from different sources to continue, Kegley said.
"Our basic message is that everyone can help," Kegley said.
Most recently, Kegley pleaded her case to the governing boards in Louisburg and Franklinton.
She next plans to meet with officials in Bunn and Youngsville for support.
They also hope to increase the funding it receives from Franklin County.
Ironically, the poor economy means the clinic is seeing more patients, but the weathered economy also means that the clinic is having a tougher time digging up financial support.
By the same time last year, the clinic had added 14 clinics a month, tripling the number the clinic has done within a year.
Their patient load is about 900.
"That's way up from last year," Kegley said. "We're amazed at the number of new patients we see at each clinic."
Kegley is in the process of writing four grants to help sustain the clinic and on Tuesday, she was at an area company asking for support as well.
Kegley said donations are needed and founders and board members of the clinic will do what they must to remain open, whether that means cutting salaries and hours of operation.
"I want our patients and future patients to know we have not given them hope just to see it snatched away," Kegley said. "We will do everything in our power to make sure this program continues.
"This board, (founder) Dr. Phil Stover and this staff are committed to providing services with no cuts," she said.
"I want to emphatically state in bold that we have not put our energy, heart and soul in offering our fellow citizens this kind of hope to see it snatched away.
"We want to continue doing that," she said. "All we're saying is that we need some help." (FT, 3/24/09)
JUN 2009 Thrift Store Opens to Help Clinic
The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine flung open the doors to its new thrift shop on Thursday, hoping the venture fuels and broadens its efforts to care for the county's underserved.
The organization opened its clinic in Louisburg in 2004 with the goal of serving the rising number of uninsured and underinsured residents in Franklin County.
To operate, organizers have relied on grants and the kindness of donors.
But with the opening of its thrift store, Encore! Encore! in Franklinton on Thursday, organizers hope they have hit on a continuing source of revenue to help them serve the community.
"This has been a dream we've had for three years," said Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Executive Director Beverly Kegley.
"This is something that will help us grow and sustain ourselves," she told a crowd gathered for a ribbon-cutting and grand opening at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
Dr. Phil Stover, medical director and chairman of the clinic, said the thrift store both provides a chance for the organization to generate revenue to operate the clinic, but it also provides them a chance to reach out to the entire community.
"When we opened (the clinic), we relied on grants but they dry up and you have to be creative to find funding," Stover said.
"And it's not easy to do in these economic times," he said. "But this thrift store can help us sustain the clinic.
"With the help of God, this will work."
And he said the organization is happy to be open in Franklinton.
"The clinic opened in Louisburg, but Volunteers in Medicine is not just Louisburg," he said. "It's county wide."
The thrift store was able to open in a building across from the Franklinton High School because of a $5,000 grant provided by Novozymes.
"With their startup grant, we're able to open up now rather than a few months from now," Kegley said.
The store opening also highlighted another partnership that VIM has with JourneyPartners - an ecumenical and interfaith not-for-profit ministry.
One of the group's programs is called Jewels for Hope, a program to assist and empower orphans in Zimbabwe.
Through the program, a trained volunteer works each week with children ages 12-19 to help with jewelry-making skills and the rudiments of small business management.
Their wares are sold and the profits are returned to the children to provide school fees and uniforms, food supplements for them and their families, as well as income to meet the challenges of daily life.
Their items are on display at Encore! Encore!.
The store is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. (FT, 6/26/09)
OCT 2009 Fifth Anniversary of Clinic
Founders of a Franklin County medical clinic held a five-year anniversary observance, capped off with a dinner to dedicate their community-based clinic.
On Saturday night, Volunteers in Medicine dedicated its clinic to James O. Hacker - who served as an inspiration to local volunteers at the this state's free clinic consultant through the Volunteers in Medicine Institute.
"He was the angel among us," Dr. Phil Stover said during the dedication dinner at Louisburg College on Saturday.
"He was the angel of this clinic."
Stover, VIM Executive Director Beverly Kegley and a host of other volunteers served as the backbone which brought the clinic into Louisburg to serve the county's growing number of uninsured and underinsured residents.
Kegley said Hacker provided the insight and support the group needed to begin and survive for five years.
"Even when he was so desperately ill with leukemia, he was never more than a phone call or email away," Kegley said.
Hacker was able to attend the clinic's opening ceremony in 2004, but the naming dedication this week had to be done posthumously.
Hacker's father, wife, brother and sister-in-law were able to attend, though.
"To have his family come, we were totally blown away," Kegley said.
"... To be able to honor their relative at this facility, now they have such a clearer understanding of what he did and what he meant," Kegley said. "To be able to stand there and hold his father's hand while he looked at the plaque ...
"It was just an incredible experience."
Renaming the clinic served two purposes, though, Kegley said.
The first was to honor the contributions that Hacker made.
The second reason was put a name on the building that reflected the service the clinic offered and remove the stigma that some have associated with the term, free clinic.
The new name is the James O. Hacker Wellness Center.
"We want to focus, and we have over the last 9 months, on wellness and preventative medicine," Kegley said. "And we wanted to reflect that in our name."
The plaque is expected to go up on the building in early November.
The dinner was just one activity that VIM hosted over the weekend to mark five years of service.
On Friday, the group held a candlelight vigil to recognize the thousands in Franklin County and the 48 million nationwide who are medically underserved.
Saturday featured a Bike Ride for Hope, and included music, food and fun at the Person Place grounds in Louisburg.
Sunday featured church services and prayer vigils for the underserved.
"We did so many things out in the public because this clinic does belong to the community," Kegley said.
"It's so important that people know that it's here." (FT, 10/13/09)
2010
JUN 2010 Daughter’s Wedding
Michelle Stover and Corbin Hildreth were married May 22, 2010 at the historic home of the bride, known as the Edwin Wiley Fuller Home. The 3 p.m. ceremony was officiated by the Rev. Barbara Lodge.
The bride is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Phillip Stover of Louisburg.
The groom's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Hildreth of Louisburg.
Wedding music was presented by organist Brian Miller, the bride's high school and middle school band teacher and friend of the family; Sarah Fenske, flutist, friend of the family; and soloist Stephen Howell, friend of the family.
The bride was given in marriage by her father, Dr. Phillip Stover.
Ashley Stover of Raleigh, sister of the bride, was maid of honor. Meg Walz of Durham, college friend of the bride, was matron of honor.
Serving as flower girl was Kaylee Saunders of Louisburg, cousin of the groom.
Mike Everette, friend of the groom, was best man.
Ushers included Bryan Hildreth of Raleigh, Graham Hildreth of Wake Forest, and Simon Hildreth of Louisburg.
Grey, black lab retriever of the couple, was the ring bearer.
The bride received B.A. and Masters (MSLS) degrees from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is a youth librarian at Green Road Library in Raleigh.
The groom is a graduate of the School of the Communication Arts in Graphic Design and Computer Animation, and is presently attending Wake Tech and N. C. State University. He is employed with National Marketing Systems in Raleigh as a coordinator.
The couple took a two-week honeymoon trip to Hawaii. They will make their home in Raleigh. (FT, 6/22/10)
AUG 2010 Airport Commission Meeting
Airport Manager Steve Merritt updated commissioners on two items that equal revenue at the airport.
First, Merritt gave commissioners their first peek at projected tax revenues at the airport - the result of a decision county commissioners made last spring, allowing the airport to recoup ad valorem taxes on aircraft based at the airport and funnel that money back into operations.
There are 65 aircraft based at the field, according to the Triangle North Executive Airport website, and property taxes have generated $62,677 so far.
Minus the net cost to the county for the airport, the taxes account for $43,003 that can be used to boost operations.
"I just wanted to present this to make sure that everyone knows the process; how it works," Merritt said during the meeting on Tuesday.
"This is seed money we can use for matching operational grants or to cover operating deficits."
Most of those deficits, Merritt said, are due to deferred maintenance that had to be done.
Still, Merritt said, out of the 61 general aviation airports operating in North Carolina, only a handful are operating in the black.
But Triangle North Executive Airport is close.
"We're doing well with operations," he said. "We're close to being in the positive."
The other piece of revenue, Merritt suggested, could come from building additional office space on the opposite side of a large hangar at the airport.
"We're looking to bring businesses to the airport and they need somewhere here where they can have an office, whether it's for sales or maintenance," Merritt said.
Merritt suggested that the airport commission could use state Department of Transportation aviation capital funds - about $166,000 a year - to put toward the project.
Merritt and aviation consultants the LPA Group, estimate a 6,000 square-foot, two-story office space, could cost between $400,000 and $800,000.
At the county's match of about $80,000, Merritt expects the county could recoup its investment in just more than three years based on current rental revenue expectations.
"We lack office space," Merritt said. "If we're going to encourage business to come here, we need it."
Airport commissioners wondered whether it would be better if a private business, rather the airport itself, pursued office space construction.
"An entrepreneur," Merritt said, "could not use the public money (aviation funds) to do it."
The board did not take any action Tuesday, and Merritt was not expecting them to.
"I just wanted to present this," Merritt said. "We'll need to chew on this some more."
In other business, Mike Colclough updated the board about the High Flight community event slated for the weekend of Sept. 18 and 19.
The event will feature static aircraft displays, free plane rides for children, a children's play area, food vendors and pilot seminars.
Colclough said the group continues to look for more corporate sponsors to support the event.
"This is shaping up to be quite a good event," said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover. (FT, 8/13/10)
SEP 2010 Tries to Propose Own Rental Car Business For Aiport (Conflict of Interest)
Franklin County's airport authority opted out of striking a deal with one of its own.
Airport board member Dr. Phil Stover presented fellow commissioners with his personal proposal to provide a car for rental at the county's Triangle North Executive Airport.
The proposal called for county airport staff to handle paperwork associated with the rentals - for which Stover would provide compensation.
Revenue, if any, would be Stover's, as it would be his business, Skyhawk Enterprises LLC.
County staff, including County Attorney David Guin and County Manager Angela Harris, along with airport board members, were uneasy about such an alliance.
"It is a conflict (of interest)," Guin told the board after having consulted with counsel with the N.C. School of Government.
The only options to provide such a service, it appears, would be for Stover to resign his post on the airport commission or operate the business using staff of a business that is based at the airport.
Stover did not propose to quit.
The prospect of an airport board member operating an airport business under an operation that is at the airport - and subject to decisions made by the board - brought questions from Harris.
"There is question whether that still constitutes a conflict of interest," Harris said. "I guess if it is a problem, you could abstain from decisions affecting (whichever business is in question)."
Stover, who is a pilot, said he made the proposal because there is a lack of rental car options at the airport.
"I think it would be a win-win for the airport, and myself," he said.
He said using another business at the airport to handle the rentals, rather than county staff, appeared to be the way to go.
However, conflict of interest wasn't the only issue, Guin said.
If Stover uses another business at the airport to handle the rental operation, Guin said it will be important that the tenants agreement is specific about their operation, as well as their agreement with Stover.
Guin said such language would be essential in helping the county avoid any liability issues if an accident or other matter occurs while a client is using the rental car.
"If I were an attorney in such a situation, I'd look at the rental company, the business under which it's operating and, down the line, to the county," Guin said.
"(Without a definitive contract with the tenant), there might be the appearance that the county has something to do with it."
The board did not take any action on Stover's proposal, other than the recommendation that he pursue the project with a business already at the airport.
Stover mentioned that N.C. Rotor and Wing might be an option.
"I think it might be doable (under a business already here)," Stover said. "I just thought about doing this because I believe it's a badly needed service at the airport." (FT, 9/18/10)
NOV 2010 Airport Commission Meeting
Plans to document hazardous materials, prevent spills and compile drainage information is moving along, airport consultants said, but once installed, it will have practical consequences - pilots won't be able to keep their planes clean at Triangle North Executive Airport.
The federal government established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program to control point-source discharges of wastewater.
The North Carolina Division of Water Quality is responsible for administering the state's permitting and compliance program and, after years of having the matter on the back burner, the state is stepping up compliance requirements, said county airport Manager Steve Merritt.
Because of that, county commissioners agreed to a contract by which airport consultants LPA Group was tasked with putting together a plan for the airport.
Essentially, said Merritt and LPA Consultant Terry Bumpus, the plan will require documentation of the kind of inspection and record keeping the airport requires for maintaining and handling hazardous materials.
The most significant aspect, staff says, will be developing a plan and practical methods to prevent fuel spills at the airport.
However, it was revealed during the board's meeting on Tuesday that the plan and federal requirements create a problem that is not unique to Triangle North Executive Airport.
Since it does not have a sewer treatment system on site to handle the runoff, pilots will no longer be able to wash planes at the airport under the soon-to-be completed plan.
The airport and county would face fines if they do not complete the NPDES plan as required by the federal government.
And violation of the plan, by washing a plane, could carry as much as a $10,000 fine per action, Bumpus said.
The fine would be absorbed by the airport, not the pilot.
"[Not being able to wash planes] creates a big problem (for pilots)," said airport commissioner and pilot Dr. Phil Stover. "What are we going go do now?"
Merritt said it's a problem for a number of smaller airports that don't have sewer systems dedicated to washing planes.
And even Raleigh-Durham International, Merritt said, does not allow plane washing.
Airport Commissioner Steve Trubilla said not washing planes was not an option.
"There's gotta be an option (where we can wash planes)," he said. "Telling us that we can't do it is not acceptable."
Airport Commission Chairman John Allers tasked Trubilla and Stover with working together to determine what options would be available to solve the problem.
And airport commissioner and County Commissioner Shane Mitchell suggested Bumpus be included in any efforts, particularly since his company is receiving up to $10,000 under the contract to develop the NPDES.
The LPA Group expects to complete the plan by Christmas. (FT, 11/12/10)
DEC 2010 Clinic Helping Uninsured
Franklin County's volunteer clinic sent a team to Charlotte on Tuesday, helping with a federal effort to provide the uninsured with medical care.
The National Association of Free Clinics coordinated with the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics this week to host the clinic in Charlotte.
The groups have worked to host free clinics across the country, assisting more than 10,000 uninsured patients received care in Houston, New Orleans, Little Rock, Ark., Kansas City, Hartford, Conn., Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.
The clinics rely on volunteers from across the country and this is the first time that the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine sent a team to help.
Also, representatives from the Rural Health group were dispatched.
The team went down Monday afternoon to set up for the Tuesday clinic.
"This is an opportunity to help," said Volunteers in Medicine Executive Director Beverly Kegley. "That's what we're about."
Kegley led a team consisting of Dr. Phil Stover, Dr. Frank Schneck and his wife, Pat, VIM members Angela Herring, Pattie Andrews, Mary Weaver, her son, Zachary Kegley, and Rural Health representative Anne Braswell.
The C.A.R.E (Communities Are Responding Everyday) Clinic, was held Tuesday at the Charlotte Convention Center.
It was the ninth in a series of large, mostly one-day C.A.R.E. Clinics held around the country that bring physicians, health care professionals and volunteers together, with the goal of serving the uninsured and underinsured around the country.
The clinic provided help for those who were ill, as well as a checkup for those who might have gone without seeing a doctor for some time.
• The National Association of Free Clinics is the only nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of more than 1,200 free clinics and the people they serve in the United States.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., the NAFC is an effective advocate for the issues and concerns of free clinics, their volunteer workforce of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, technicians and other health care professionals, as well as the patients served by free clinics in communities throughout the nation. (FT, 12/7/10)
2011
MAY 2011 Airport Commission Meeting
The county's airport commission gave its staff approval to apply for a grant that could aid in airport expansion.
Members of the Triangle North Executive Airport commission identified acquiring 31 acres just northeast of the terminal as a priority when it finalized its Transportation Improvement Plan requests.
The property would expand the airport's footprint, allowing for expansion on the north side, which could house new hangars - which generate more revenue.
On Tuesday, airport manager Steve Merritt told the board that N.C. Aviation Director Richard Walls informed him that discretionary grant funds could help the airport and county acquire the property.
"... There is money left over for the end of the year," Merritt told the board.
The airport, Merritt said, has engaged an appraiser to help determine the value of the acreage.
Staff, including County Economic Development Director Ronnie Goswick, said the property could be expected to attract $400,000.
County Commissioner Don Lancaster, who serves on the airport commission and is chair of the Kerr-Tar Regional Economic Development Corp. - the four-county nonprofit organization that owns and develops the Triangle North business parks - said the property should be less than that.
Franklin County purchased adjacent property for its hub site at $12,000 an acre.
"I think we can get it for less," Lancaster said.
If the county is able to get the grant, it would require a 10 percent match.
There is no commitment, but the airport commission gave Merritt the go-ahead to pursue the grant.
"We've never gotten (a discretionary grant) except for the one we got to construct this airport," Merritt said. "This is a big deal."
One of the reasons why the county appears so eligible for the discretionary grant is because of the efforts to secure funding to build an access road from the adjacent Triangle North Franklin business park to U.S. 401.
The county secured a $1.7 million federal grant and $900,000 in state money to fund the 7,000-foot access road. Work could begin by late summer and be completed early next year.
"We're eligible for this (discretionary) funding because we were not just sitting here with our hands out," Merritt said.
"They see that we're trying to do something," Lancaster said.
In other business, Merritt updated the board about damage reported at the airport as a result of the April 16 storms that swept through the area.
Nine aircrafts were damaged, one of which sustained $10,000 in damage.
There were about three aircrafts inside of hangars that were damaged, which highlighted structural issues on hangar doors.
The airport, staff said, has been told by its insurance carrier that it is not liable for damage that occurred to tied-down planes or those inside hangars.
Merritt told the board that efforts are underway to bolster doors against high-speed winds.
Commission Vice Chair Dr. Phil Stover said that needs to be a priority.
"There could be some liability (down the line) if we don't take care of this," he said. (FT, 5/13/11)
AUG 2011 Clinic Selected for Anti-Smoking Campaign
A local free clinic is again a trailblazer - this time in an effort to get people to avoid lighting up.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selected free clinics in North and South Carolina and Virginia to be part of its Learn More Breathe Better campaign - an effort to stamp out Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and tobacco use.
Dr. Phil Stover with Volunteers in Medicine said problems created by tobacco use are the number one preventable issue that the clinic can treat.
"The problems we see are lifestyle issues," Stover said. "People smoke too much, eat too much and sit (around) too much," he said. "If we're going to change a lot of this, we've got to reverse those three things.
"We need to get people to exercise more, eat and drink less and stop smoking, or at least decrease their smoking.
"This (campaign) is a big part of what we're trying to do in the clinic," he said. "We're trying to improve health, not just fix problems after they occur.
"To do that, we have got to look at more creative ways to tackle this problem."
Only three clinics in each state were chosen and Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) was one of the trio of organizations chosen in North Carolina.
"We have always been an agency that has been at the forefront of efforts to help rural residents," said VIM Executive Director Beverly Kegley.
"There are very few initiatives that we don't say absolutely, of course we will help," Kegley said. "If we can, we do it.
"I think plenty of people in the state recognize that."
The effort is coordinated down from the federal level through the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics.
Through the campaign, the clinic will receive $4,000 for its participation.
It will receive a free spirometer - which measures air capacity of the lungs - and the staff training necessary to operate the equipment.
Among other things, clinics will also:
• Gain experience in screening for tobacco use and COPD;
• Learn how to help patients minimize the impact of the disease;
• Be part of a community effort targeting COPD to other providers, hospitals, health departments, other community services and local media;
• Receive and be able to provide free COPD patient educational materials.
• The campaign will also let the clinic partner with the state operated 1-800-QUIT NOW, another campaign to stamp out smoking.
"COPD and respiratory illnesses are two of the major things we treat," Kegley said. "Before this got started, Dr. (Phil) Stover had already asked our nurse to start looking into ways to do a stop smoking campaign.
"... This certainly fits in with what we want to do as a clinic."
The clinic, Kegley said, is sensitive to the battle it faces, particularly in Franklin County - which owes a great deal of its heritage and current fiscal might to tobacco.
"We are very cognizant of that, but the danger of smoking just has to outweigh (its financial importance)," Kegley said.
"We would love to see another use for the plant and I understand there are studies going on right now about the different ways to use it.
"It certainly is something to think about," she said. "(Being against tobacco) is not the position we would like to be in, but the damage from tobacco use is so extreme that we felt we have to do something.
"We want to at least educate people, then it would be up to them to make a decision." (FT, 8/9/11)
AUG 2011 Airport Commission Meeting
The county's most recent airport commission meeting lasted about 45 minutes.
However, if the board continued to debate the issue of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding, they could still be in session.
As Airport Manager Steve Merritt updated the board on its budget, board members began discussing the current climate in federal government - particularly their willingness to provide funding for rural airport construction projects.
The FAA had been partially shut down for two weeks, but on Monday, President Barack Obama signed a six-week funding extension - giving the House and Senate until Sept. 16 to get a permanent deal done or do another extension.
While that is one issue, another has to do with the long-time debate about whether or how the FAA funds airport construction projects.
Airport Commission Vice Chair Dr. Phil Stover said there seems to be more push to cut back that funding.
"There is a sizeable group that wants to kill this aid to airports," Stover said during the board's meeting on Tuesday.
Stover took a quick jab at fellow airport commissioner Don Lancaster, a Republican, noting that it was the current party in power that appeared to be pushing for an end to the airport construction funding at the federal level.
Airports like Franklin County's Triangle North Franklin get $150,000 annually for capital improvement projects.
The airport pooled that money the last three years to undertake its most recent hangar construction project.
Merritt said that status of that funding is always a question, however, with the current economic climate, there appears to be more concern that such funding could be affected.
"That batch of money is always in play, however, with the concerns about the deficit, it may be more in play," Merritt said.
"It's just a grey area right now," he said. "We just don't know."
Stover also expressed concern that the argument for user fees would again come to the forefront.
The basic idea of user fees is that pilots would be charged a set fee, maybe $25 to $100, per flight.
Also, it could be assessed per takeoff or per radio contact with air traffic control.
The measure would kill general aviation airports, Stover said.
"It looks like they are taking general aviation aiports and trying to muck it up," Stover said.
Realizing, though, that the board had other matters on the agenda, and a limited ability to affect those federal matters, the board moved along.
"We could be here all night," said Airport Commission member Herman Dickens.
While one batch of money could be in jeopardy, board members and staff said, there is another pot of funding that the airport appears primed for.
In the spring, the airport board gave Merritt authority to move forward with an application for a discretionary grant to buy 62 acres adjacent to the airport.
The property, owned by Ann Gordon, has been appraised twice at a value of $10,000 an acre. If the project is approved, the airport would be responsible for 10 percent of the cost - which is available, Merritt said.
County Economic Development Director Ronnie Goswick has been authorized to negotiate with Gordon.
The airport is pursuing the grant, Merritt said, because the state has intimated that Franklin County would be a good candidate for the grant.
"It's always a good thing to be able to acquire land around an airport," Merritt said.
• Merritt updated the board about its scheduled High Flight community day, scheduled for Sept. 17.
The event gives residents and visitors a chance to visit the airport and witness its amenities.
The one-day event will also feature the Young Eagles program, providing youngsters with free flights.
An area remote-controlled airplane club will also be available to display and fly their crafts.
• The board gave Merritt the approval needed to contract with Vance Construction to build a spill-containment device around its fuel dispensing equipment.
The project is necessary under the airport's plan to mitigate hazardous spills.
Vance Construction has proposed doing the project for $13,000, $7,000 less than the only other bidder. (FT, 8/12/11)
DEC 2011 Airport Commission Meeting
Franklin County's airport authority learned this week that it was awarded half the amount of a grant it would need to complete an expansion project.
Members of the Triangle North Executive Airport board said they needed to make sure the state Department of Transportation's Aviation Division would give them the other $400,000 before they asked county commissioners for approval to move forward.
In May, the airport's governing board gave staff the approval to apply for the $800,000 state grant and during a meeting on Tuesday, Airport Director Steve Merritt notified the board that the county had received a letter of award for $400,000 of the grant.
"We do have a commitment of money," Merritt said.
County and airport board attorney David Guin asked about the commitment for the rest.
"They are drafting a letter (for that commitment)," Merritt said.
• The airport commission identified acquiring 31 acres just northeast of the terminal as a priority when it finalized its Transportation Improvement Plan requests last year.
The property would expand the airport's 220-acre footprint and allow for expansion on the north side, which could house new hangars - which generate more revenue.
The airport authority had given county Economic Development Director Ronnie Goswick authority to negotiate with the property's owner - Ann Gordon.
Franklin County purchased adjacent property for its hub site at $12,000 an acre.
Gordon's property has been appraised twice at $10,000 an acre. And she wants to sell 62 acres.
Merritt said the county expects to get the full $800,000 grant which would allow them to complete the purchase process.
But that money needs to be in hand, Guin said, before commissioners are asked to sign off on such a project.
"If I were selling it, I would not be willing to do it contingent on future funding from the (state Department of Transportation)," Guin said.
"If these funds don't come through, the money would have to come from county funds," he said.
Merritt, though, said it was just a matter of time before the state notified the county that it would make the other half of the commitment.
The money is not the only loose end that needs to be tied up before the land acquisition is presented to commissioners - probably in January.
There are some minor state Historical Preservation issues associated with the site, airport staff and officials said, but nothing expected to hold up a sale.
There were also some ownership concerns, staff said, but Guin noted they had been worked out.
"The (Board of Commissioners) will want to know all the facts," said airport Commissioner Don Lancaster, who is also on the county's Board of Commissioners.
"I don't think any of this will be a problem," he said. "We just have to go through the process."
Airport Commission Vice Chair Dr. Phil Stover agreed.
"We need all of our ducks in a row," he said.
The grant will require a 10 percent county match. (FT, 12/16/11)
2012
JUN 2012 Airport Commission Meeting
A deal that appeared close to completion earlier this year is dragging close to a deadline, albeit not a hard and fast one.
In January, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners agreed to buy 64 acres adjacent to Triangle North Executive Airport, which is located on Airport Road between U.S. 401 and N.C. 39
The deal is not yet finalized, though.
Airport officials said the deal with property owner Anne Gordon was close to completion during a meeting in February, however, the process of clearing all of the acreage has stalled the deal.
According to airport board members at a meeting on June 12, it appears that Gordon has yet to fully show claim to all 220 acres.
Another party, board members said, appears to still hold a deed of trust on a piece of the property.
"That needs to be cleared," said Airport Director Steve Merritt.
Until that happens, board members and staff said, the county can't use state Department of Transportation committed money to purchase the land and expand the airport.
The delay, board members said, is a bit concerning.
While there is no evidence to suggest it, board members did talk about getting the project cleared up and approved before the end of the fiscal year - which concludes on June 30.
Going beyond that could risk the commitment of money, based on the volatility in the legislature, board members said.
The $702,337 state grant will be combined with $105,264 in local airport money to buy the land.
"With this legislature," Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover said, you never know what they're going to do."
The risk of losing the commitment was small, board members said, but they would like to avoid the possibility if they can.
"We've got three weeks left (in the fiscal year)," said Airport and County Commissioner Don Lancaster.
"We need to light a fire under these folks."
The board suggested that county attorney Pete Tomlinson work with the property owners to get the matter settled.
"We need to get the lawyers to get this off the dime," said Commission Chair John Allers.
In other business, airport commission members and staff talked about efforts to generate interest in the airport.
Generally, that had been accomplished through an event called High Flight, which brought hundreds of people to the airport to see displays and allowed children to take flights through a Young Eagles program.
The event became too labor and volunteer intensive, airport staff said.
With the aid of the county's Chamber of Commerce, the airport is preparing to host an Open House for businesses on Sept. 7
Beyond that, board members talked about hosting events on a quarterly basis at the airport.
One of those could be to offer airplane flights not just for kids, but for adults - which could spark their interest in taking flight lessons or even buying an airplane, themselves.
• The next board meeting was slated for Aug. 14.
Beyond that, the board will use its October meeting to develop ideas and plans that would be included in its Transportation Improvement Plan which gets sent to the the Department of Transportation. (FT, 6/22/12)
2013
FEB 2013 Fundraiser For Clinic
- Franklin County's free clinic needs some help, so they've called upon one of college basketball's most renowned assist men.
Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine Executive Director Beverly Kegley said they are joining forces with the Phil Ford Foundation to bolster local donations.
They'll kick off that effort at the end of the month with a $10-a-ticket breakfast and autograph session with Ford - a former University of North Carolina basketball star.
"This is an absolute fundraiser for the clinic," Kegley said. "We are in critical need of money, locally raised money."
The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) got its start in 2003, setting out to provide a medical home for the roughly 8,000 uninsured and underinsured Franklin County residents.
The clinic has gotten state and federal grants, and assistance from health care organizations to put toward programs.
However, those monies generally don't or can't cover operations, the money it takes to keep the lights on and provide the practical resources of operating a clinic.
"We have got to raise local dollars for operating and sustainable income," Kegley said.
That's where Ford and his newly created Phil Ford Foundation can help.
According to Kegley and reports, the foundation has already pledged to support a free clinic in Warren County.
The developing foundation is slated to focus on childhood obesity, but the reach is expected to be broader.
Kegley said Phil Ford, and his brother, Alex, are expected to help the clinic target better ways to solicit local funding through the foundation.
"We'll be working with them to put into place more sustainable income," Kegley said.
That first effort will be at the breakfast, scheduled for Feb. 27 at Louisburg College.
The breakfast will target local business and community leaders.
There will be auction items, Kegley said, as well as fundraising photo and autograph opportunities with Ford.
"It's a big, big fundraiser for us," Kegley said.
The mission of the clinic won't get lost, Kegley said.
The clinic's work will be on display, too, she said.
The clinic has seen thousands of patients since it opened and provides them with the education and, in some cases, the medicines they need to help with chronic, non acute, health problems.
They also collaborate with the Rural Health Group, as well as the Franklin County Health Department, seeing patients in the county's facility on Industrial Drive.
They still see patients on some evenings at the James O. Hacker Wellness Center in town.
"It's a real good time to be doing this," Kegley said of the efforts to build local financial support for the clinic, noting that it will be the 10-year anniversary of operating the nonprofit organization.
"We're going to make a lot of efforts the next month to inform about the clinic and to ask for local help," Kegley said.
Those local dollars, she said, not only help keep the lights on, but it also help bolster applications for state and federal grants.
Local support is one of the things that grantors look for.
"... I think that the kickoff fundraiser will be huge," Kegley said. "We're grateful that Phil and his brother have assets they want to bring to the county.
"We need people in the county to realize what a gift this clinic is," she said. "And I'm not talking about me and (co-founder Dr. Phil Stover).
"I'm talking about this clinic and what it means." (FT, 2/12/13)
MAR 2013 Fundraiser For Clinic
He was the ACC's player of the year, the NBA's rookie of the year, and won titles as an assistant in college and in the professional ranks.
This year, Phil Ford added another title to his resum) - champion of the uninsured.
Through his Phil Ford Foundation, the former University of North Carolina basketball star has agreed to bolster the efforts of local free clinics, including the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine.
On Wednesday morning, he was the guest of honor at a breakfast to raise funds for the Louisburg organization.
"When I was approached about this, I just couldn't believe it," Ford said during the breakfast at Louisburg College's Multi-Purpose room. "For the greatest country in the world to be facing this problem ... it just doesn't seem like we should be facing this problem.
"I'm willing to do anything I can to help."
The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) got its start in 2003, setting out to provide a medical home for the 7,000 to 8,000 uninsured and underinsured people in Franklin County.
The group has relied greatly upon federal and state grants, as well as funds from health care-related organizations to cover program costs.
But the organization's founders, and Jason Baisden, the executive director and lobbyist for the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, say local donations cover the practical costs of keeping the lights on.
Those local donations are the lifeblood of any clinic, Baisden said, and they are lacking.
The breakfast was designed to raise awareness about the good that free clinics do, while also encouraging people, organizations and businesses to support the effort.
"Free clinics are facing severe cutbacks," said Dr. Phil Stover, a founder of the free clinic.
"Without significant local support, many clinics like us will have to close."
Organizers hope that aligning themselves with Ford and his foundation will help generate the kinds of local interest that will boost VIM's bottom line and improve their ability to help those in need.
The college's multi-purpose room was full of people who paid $10 a ticket for the chance to attend the breakfast and meet Ford.
There was also an auction of a Ford signed basketball, as well a package to attend a UNC basketball game with Ford and visit the locker room.
The auction generated more than $3,200.
Ford's cousin, Alex, vice president of the Phil Ford Foundation, said they would be doing more to let people know about the plight of the uninsured and underinsured.
Alex Ford said they would have a website up and running soon, called Faces of Grey, where the uninsured would be able to tell their stories - putting a face on the problem.
"We don't want them to get lost in the mix," Alex Ford said.
That kind of help, Baisden said, is what keeps free clinics chugging along.
"Free clinics really couldn't do what we do without the support of our local hospitals and entities like the Phil Ford Foundation," he said.
Novant Health officials, parent company of Franklin Regional Medical Center, said their involvement with the free clinic is important.
The hospital, the county's health department, and other health care entities have joined forces in a collaborative effort to meet the needs of the uninsured.
"We're very glad to be associated with Volunteers in Medicine," said Joanne Holder, Novant Health's director of human resources for the Triangle market.
"The clinic is doing great work," she said, "but more needs to be done." (FT, 3/1/13)
AUG 2013 Collaboartion With Health Department Over
A medical collaboration designed to give the sick a more stable health care home ended this summer.
A loss of funding and an underlying difference in culture ultimately concluded the venture between the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine and the county Health Department.
"A nonprofit and government partnership is doable," said Dr. Phillip Stover, the free clinic's medical director and chair of the board of directors.
"It's not easy."
The collaboration began in 2010 with a three-year, $175,000 Community Health Center Grant.
It allowed the free clinic to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort.
From the beginning, though, both sides acknowledged their diverging cultures.
The health department is a high-volume practice with state and federal mandates.
The free clinic is a volunteer, faith-based organization with less bureaucracy.
Initially, VIM and the health department worked well, said Stover, VIM Executive Director Beverly Kegley and Health Department Director Dr. Chris Szwagiel.
But the three-year grant expired in December and the collaboration ran out at the end of the 2013 fiscal year.
"We had looked at different avenue to see if we could do something to sustain it," Szwagiel said. "Things didn't come together on that.
"We were willing to have them run their clinic here," he said, "but there were other things they wanted to do."
Stover and Kegley said the funding was only part of the reason why they decided to pull out of the health department.
Stover said there was some friction between the two groups.
Stover said clinic staff was subject to security protocols that they felt were too invasive. And free clinic volunteers and patients, he said, did not always feel welcome.
The layout of the health department itself was problematic.
Ultimately, Stover and Kegley said it was a culture clash between the mandate-driven health department and the, by comparison, free-wheeling nature of the free clinic.
"When we first went over there," Stover said, "there was a lot of angst between both staffs, but we worked through that.
"Through the day-to-day, we had some good working relationships," he said. "There were just some things we could not overcome."
But he and Kegley said they would be willing to consider a collaboration, again, with a government entity.
They would want to be full partners, though, not feeling like contracted workers.
Swagiel said the health department wants nothing but the best for the free clinic.
"We hope they're able to land on their feet and do their services full time," he said.
They aren't quite there, yet, Kegley said.
They are offering three evening clinics a month at their Harker Wellness Center on North Church Street in Louisburg.
They also offer Tuesday morning clinics each week.
They aren't seeing the volume of people as before, but that is partly due to the fact they are down a mid level family nurse practitioner.
"We're still here," Kegley said. "We haven't left."
The group's thrift store is moving, though.
They opened Encore Encore in Franklinton a few years ago, but Kegley said the lack of foot traffic has forced them to close that store.
The store helps offset the costs of running the clinic.
They were planning to open the shop in downtown Louisburg.
"We were excited about being in Franklinton," Kegley said, "but, unfortunately, it did not work."
When Volunteers in Medicine opened in 2005, the number of uninsured and underinsured in Franklin County was at about 8,000.
That number, Kegley and Stover said, has grown to about 12,000 or 13,000.
They plan to be around to help as many of them as they can.
"We're doing the best we can to keep up," Stover said. (FT, 8/14/13)
DEC 2013 Clinic On Verge Of Collapse
The impending collapse of the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in Louisburg is a condition, in my opinion, in part brought about by mismanagement and a clash of egos.
I was contacted and told there are over 3,000 of our neighbors, that absent this clinic, will have no access to basic health care.
I was told if the clinic closed, it was predictable some of these people may die.
Initially my reaction was: "What?" This cannot be true? Not in today's America. There are so many social programs and safety nets that I think even butterflies can get assistance if they could figure out how to fill out the paperwork.
Often people seek me out to vent or to press a personal agenda. Sometimes the "bird" served up is crow. Having eaten it a few times, I have learned to be cautious before I jump in.
Making some notes, I decided to follow up and see if there was anything to it. I really expected it would turn out there was more "sizzle than steak".
The facts are that if this clinic is simply allowed to close, people can die.
Imagine for a moment you have diabetes or asthma and no way of getting your medication. You do not have a vehicle or anyone in this world that will help you. What would you do?
This is not the terrible story you may think I am leading into. It is also really a wonderful story of great courage, charity, and humanity.
It is true the clinic is at great risk of closing. I am told this could happen as soon as the end of this month, Indicators are some funding may come available to buy a little more time.
I want to be clear, of the many people involved with this I could not find a single person that wants to see this clinic close, or that does not understand what a tragedy it would be. Everyone is well intended.
My assessment is the clinic has become more than what it was designed to be. The vision was at some point for it to become financially self-sustaining.
Grants were obtained, donations given, and there was great support by many to bring this to a success. Many health care providers and volunteers joined the effort. All of which deserve great credit.
This includes Beverly Kegley, the director of the clinic, a woman with a heart bigger than Texas. She would help everyone if she could.
The organization simply lost sight of the future. I could not find an existing functioning mission statement or plan. At one point they had a plan, it was not followed. No one planned to fail.
The Volunteer Medical Clinic was born of great need. I was told many years ago Dr. Phil Stover recognized this and organized the effort to address it. I personally know Dr. Stover and had no idea of what he has, and is doing on this; one of the "unsung heroes." Without him from what I see there would be no clinic.
There are so many in our community doing wonderful things like this. They are not boastful or looking for attention. I have found most would rather not even be known for what they are doing.
It is true the Volunteer Medical Clinic is in desperate need of help. Now is not the time to throw rocks at those that have tried so hard to make it work. It is time to help them.
I contacted Angela Harris, the Franklin County manager. She said she was aware of this and would look into it further. I also spoke with Dr. Szwagiel with the Franklin County Health Department, he too voiced concern.
I asked the county manager if there was a contingency plan if the clinic closed. She said no. I had the sense she also had great concern. But no contingency plan?
What is the role of local government? Some would say they do not have a role in this. What do you say? Maybe you should call your elected officials and ask them about it?
Now hopefully there will, and should be, an audit, and a review. Let that fall out where it does. Let's put the wheels back on the wagon.
There are some issues that simply need to transcend politics. The expansion of Medicaid is for me one of them. I feel the Affordable Care Act is gravely flawed and was misrepresented. This however does not excuse sacrificing those most in need. A rich mother's tears are not worth more than a poor mother's tears.
This needs to be a good news story. We cannot just let the clinic close.
I have been told it would take about $14,000 a month to keep their doors open with volunteers. This is an open plea to local business and others to help with this until things can get back on track.
Let everyone have a Merry Christmas. (FT, 12/11/13)
2014
OCT 2014 Clinic Backers Bash GOP
-- Eleven years after forming, organizers of the Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine reflected upon their free clinic and had warm words for those who have fought to maintain viable healthcare in Franklin County.
It was hard, though, not to cast a gaze and share some critical words for members of the General Assembly who voted against Medicaid expansion -- creating health care hardships for some of the state's most vulnerable citizens.
"The [Republican-led] General Assembly should be ashamed," said District 7 Rep. Bobbie Richardson (D), who provided the keynote address during the 11-year anniversary last week.
Richardson noted the General Assembly should take its cues from Volunteers in Medicine founders, Dr. Phil Stover and Beverly Kegley, who saw a need to provide care for uninsured and underinsured and stepped up.
"You've provided medical services for those who can't provide for themselves."
During the Oct. 9 ceremony, she also quoted former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
"North Caolina government is failing to do that," she said. "Volunteers in Medicine is doing that."
The idea for the clinic began in 2003 to treat, at the time, the roughly 8,000 uninsured and under insured residents in Franklin County.
By 2005, VIM had secured its location on Church Street to begin providing clinic hours to residents who suffered from chronic health issues.
Since its inception, the clinic has relied upon donations to operate, including those from the private sector.
However, the clinic has survived on grants, such as a three-year, $175,000 grant they received in 2010 from the Community Health Center.
It allowed VIM to collaborate with the health department, giving them a chance to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort.
That relationship, due to financial and philosophical issues, fizzled and VIM has gone back to providing clinic hours a handful of days each month at its Church Street location.
"It's our 11th year, but we've really been working on this 13 or 14 years," Dr. Stover said. "It's been a roller-coaster ride. We've been to mountain tops and we've seen valleys," he said. "When we got this place," Stover said, pointing to the building on Church Street, "and when we got grant money, we were on a high.
"And we were on a high when we had the partnership with the health department," Stover said. "Then, the political winds changed and funding dried up.
"And, now, with Medicaid money (going away) we've hit a valley. But we're still here," he said. "We're struggling, but we're not giving up." (FT, 10/15/14)
2015
FEB 2015 Airport Commission Meeting
LOUISBURG -- Airport officials have urged pilots and parachutists to get together -- again -- to figure out how jumpers and planes can continue to share the sky in and around Triangle North Executive Airport.
This spring, the Triangle Skydiving Center (TSC) will have been at the airport for six years.
In that time, the center, the area pilots' association and other interested parties drafted a Letter of Mutual Understanding that defined how planes, helicopters, jumpers and other airport users would co-exist.
That agreement is not binding or enforceable because Federal Aviation Administration regulations, airport staff and officials say, allows the airport to govern ground activities.
The FAA regulates the skies.
Pilots who have expressed concern about the arrangement at the airport told some airport officials and staff that maybe it's time for representatives with the FAA's Flight Standards District Office to come in an examine the operations.
'[Bringing them in],' airport board Chair John Allers said during the board's Tuesday night meeting, 'will be one of the things they determine when the sides sit down to talk.'
There appears to be two primary issues among pilots and the skydiving operation.
One is that pilots have complained that they've witnessed jumpers come across the runway at the airport at too low a height -- creating apparent safety issues and other concerns.
The other issue, airport officials say pilots have expressed, is that the plane carrying skydivers up for jumps has not always been clear about the plane's location -- creating doubt among pilots planning to take off or land.
The first issue, TSC owner Greg Upper told airport commissioners, has happened maybe twice in the time that they've been operating at the airport.
The second issue, he said, could be handled at a personnel level if the allegations are true.
Beyond that, he said, 'everyone at the airport is trying to be a good neighbor.'
Todd Huvard, with Aircraft Merchants, a vendor at the airport, said he believes the consternation about skydiving operations is limited to a select few pilots.
'I'm speaking for the silent majority of people with no problems,' he said. 'This airport is interesting and unique and growing and we don't need this kind of chafe.
'I don't think there are any safety of flight issues.'
Bruce Allen, a former airport employee, though, said he had witnessed issues between jumpers and pilots while on the job.
The Letter of Mutual Understanding doesn't seem to be calming the issue.
'We need to get the FAA in to examine this issue,' he said. '... Invite them in to take a look and make a determination.
'Problem solved.'
Airport Director Steve Merritt warned that inviting the FAA could be tantamount to calling an 'artillery strike on yourself.'
Merritt, a pilot, and airport board member Dr. Phil Stover, who is also a pilot, told their fellow board members that the FAA may come in to examine the ability of jumpers and pilots to co-exist, however, their scrutiny may very well go beyond that -- to the detriment of the pilots who are concerned about jumpers cramping their style.
The airport board said they would support a meeting of all interested parties to try and hash the matter out.
If they are not able, they could bring up the possibility of bringing in the FAA.
No other action was taken on the matter. (FT, 2/11/15)
AUG 2015 Daughter Wedding
Ashley Danielle Stover and Samuel Jackson Craig IV were married Saturday, June 20, 2015 at Louisburg United Methodist Church on North Main Street. The Rev. Madison Hankal was the officiant for the 3:30 p.m. traditional wedding ceremony.
The bride is the daughter of Drs. Judy and Phillip Stover of Louisburg.
The groom's parents are Harold and Melissa Pridgen of Denton, N.C.
The bride was given in marriage by her parents. (FT, 8/5/15)
DEC 2015 Grant For Clinic
The Franklin County Board of Health agreed to move forward with applying for a grant that would bolster a decade-old free clinic service.
The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine began operating its free clinic in Louisburg in 2005, serving as a medical home for the more than 8,000 uninsured and underinsured residents in Franklin County.
Since its inception, the clinic has relied upon donations to operate, including those from the private sector.
However, the clinic has survived on grants, such as a three-year, $175,000 grant it received in 2010 from the Community Health Center.
It allowed VIM to collaborate with the health department, giving them a chance to see patients on a routine, Monday through Friday basis at the health department, rather than the handful of day and evening hours they were afforded prior to the joint effort.
That relationship, due to financial and philosophical issues, fizzled and VIM has gone back to providing clinic hours a handful of days each month at its Church Street location.
Now, though, under a new name, Franklin Community Partners in Health (FCPH), and some new leadership, Acting Executive Director Chris Pernell, the clinic is looking to try a new collaborative effort with the Franklin County Health Department.
During the Board of Health's Dec. 17 meeting, members agreed to let staff move forward and explore applying for a Rural Health Community Health Grant in partnership with the free clinic.
"They've been operating without grant money, and they've just been patching things together the best they can," Health Director Dr. Chris Szwagiel told board members during the meeting.
The collaborative would allow FCPH to set up shop in the health department's dental clinic, which it no longer uses.
The grant, if applied for, approved and received, would give the FCPH a shot in the arm to host more clinics in a bigger space at the health department.
Currently, Franklin Community Partners in Health is able to offer clinics on Tuesday's from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; and on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, from 6-8 p.m.; and on the second Thursday, from 6-8 p.m., at their location on Church Street.
The collaboration and grant would allow the clinic to expand hours, services and the number of patients they see.
Workers at the free clinic volunteer time, including Dr. Phil Stover and a nurse practitioner, but to better serve, the clinic needs a midlevel provider and part-time administrative assistant.
Those two positions require money, Pernell said.
"As of today," Pernell said, "we have every piece to provide care, except for money."
The assistance from the health department, the new name and leadership -- Pernell is the sister of Bev Kegley, who was the group's longtime executive director before moving back to her native Kentucky recently -- also gives the clinic a chance to reach back out into the community, Pernell said.
"Where we are is where a lot of free clinics are," Pernell said. "We're trying to get to a place where we're not 100 percent relying on money from grants.
"When I came on, we were struggling for funds," she said. "We were still hearing folks say they didn't know we existed.
"... We want to do more reaching out into the community and let them know what we do and how we do it."
The clinic doesn't provide urgent or emergent care.
But, for a few bucks, $5 for new patients and $3 for established patients, the clinic sees residents who suffer from chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and other ailments that can be treated and managed with minimal medications or other preventative measures.
The goal is to keep those folks, who may not be able to afford or always see a primary care physician, from winding up using emergency rooms all the time.
That's particularly important now that Franklin County doesn't have a hospital.
If the clinic is able to secure a grant to get them steady on their feet, they could become stable enough where they can get the staff they would need to begin billing Medicaid, Medicare and third-party insured patients.
"Grant providers want to fund something new and innovative and treating the uninsured never becomes new or innovative and it doesn't bring in income.
"We have to figure out how do we make enough income and billing Medicaid, Medicare and third-party insurers is a way to do that.
"Billing," Pernell said, "truly is just a matter of resources.
"We've been operating on less than a shoe string, so we don't have the money to pay someone to [handle that paperwork and billing that's required].
"A grant would provide the bridge money we'd need to get to that point."
The decision to move forward with the grant proposal was unanimous.
The dental clinic, if it would be used, needs some roof work, which would be done by FCPH or their agents.
Some health board members were concerned about whether they'd face any liability by letting someone use county space, but attorneys advised that any lease agreement and insurance plans would keep the county from harm.
"I don't see a negative side to it," said Health Board member Buffy Broughton. (FT, 12/30/15)
2017
JUN 2017 Airport Commission Meeting
The county's airport commission agreed to a concession on a lease agreement that's expected to spur a couple into building a hangar -- adding a bit more money to the airport's coffers.
And, they heard about a potential industrial development project at the airport that could provide a much bigger infusion of cash to the county, while also bolstering health care.
Airport Director Stephen Merritt told the board that Air Methods is looking for a place to house a $10 million transport helicopter and has talked to airport representative three times.
If the Pittsburgh-based company decided to bring its helicopter to Triangle North Executive Airport, they'd probably build a commercial building for its pilots, as well as a hangar for the craft.
Merritt said if the move comes to fruition, it's a boon for the airport, which generates tax revenue from the craft, fuel sales and other means, the locally based medical transport would aid in health care as Franklin County is currently without a hospital and so is Warren County.
While Duke Lifepoint is expected to open an emergency room and other medical services at the abandoned hospital site in Louisburg, they are not proposing to bring back a full-fledged hospital.
So, a medical transport would be beneficial.
"[Air Method] is excited about it and so are we," Merritt said.
There were only two concerns brought up during the Tuesday afternoon meeting:
Would the county's sewer allocation issues hinder the company's building plans;
Would the business be hindered by skydiving activity at the airport.
Merritt said skydiving activity at the airport would not interfere with Air Method.
And commissioners were fairly certain that the airport/industrial park area has a healthy chunk of the county's sewer allocation set aside for economic development.
But that will be verified, airport staff said.
"I just want to make sure we don't end up with an issue where someone wants to come out here and we're like, uh, we don't have any sewer allocation," said Airport Commission Chair John Allers, who is also a Franklinton commissioner who has dealt with sewer allocations on that side of the county.
Lori Duke, who serves as the liaison between the airport commission and economic development, said she would check with Economic Development Director Richie Duncan to verify sewer allocation in the industrial area.
"I'll make sure," she said.
If Air Method comes to the county, said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover, it will be tremendous for the airport and county.
"This would be our contribution to the health care crisis in the county," he said.
"And," Merritt said, "this is not some fly-by-night operation."
In the matter regarding the hangar, the airport commission agreed to remove language from a proposed lease agreement that would have required Lin Oakley and Pam Fowler to have at least $100,000 worth of airplanes in their hangar.
The couple wants to build a hangar and said they shouldn't have any problem with that, for the most part, but there might be some issue that arises -- such as downgrading the size of planes they maintain -- that could make that threshold difficult.
The board agreed by consensus to remove that language from the agreement.
"I want them to pay taxes on what they've got, rather than let them walk away" said Airport and County Commissioner David Bunn. "That doesn't make good sense."
In other business, Merritt advised the board that they've raised funds and expect to soon receive a plaque recognizing the contributions to the airport by the late Billy Lumpkin -- who was chair of the Franklin County Airport Study Committee, where his efforts were key in securing the federal funds and the site needed to build the airport, which is now Triangle North Executive Airport.
A ceremony, Merritt said, has been coordinated with Lumpkin's family and is slated for Sept. 9. The time has yet to be determined. (FT, 6/21/17)
OCT 2017 Airport Commission Meeting
The county's airport authority agreed to put a committee together and task it with marketing and promoting aviation to the community.
Triangle North Executive Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover said the idea came to him last month, following the dedication of the airport terminal to Billy Lumpkin.
He was approached by people who said they had no idea that Franklin County was home to a facility that housed so many planes and generated so much direct and indirect revenue for the county.
Between the airport and businesses, it's responsible for 50 employees, airport staff have said.
It's also the home base for 132 airplanes, ranking it sixth in the state.
According to state figures, it also provides a $15 million tax base for the county and generates a $23 million annual economic impact for Franklin and northern Wake counties.
"I've been here now 35 years ... and one of the things I really feel is the problem with this county is we tend to badmouth the county, and about how lousy things are people say nothing good comes out of Franklin County, and I think that's just not true.
"I think we've got a lot of things to really be proud of in this county ...," he said. "But, I think we have really, sometimes, missed the boat, or not completely done our job as a board in publicizing what this airport is to the rest of the county.
"It is a real gem."
During the board's meeting on Tuesday, Stover initiated the conversation on how best the board could work to get that message out.
"I don't have any brilliant ideas on how we should do this, but I think it's something we should start thinking about how we, as a board, can help [Airport Director Stephen Merritt] publicize this facility and what it really means to this county," Stover said.
Part of the discussion during the board's meeting focused on how the board could begin putting together public events, without burdening staff with the logistics, that could bring more people out to the airport.
Those events, commissioners said, don't have to be as taxing as an air show, though.
"We used to do open houses," said Airport Commission Chairman John Allers. "The problem is that they were so successful, we couldn't get enough volunteers to help and it about killed the director [to host them.]
Commissioners talked about partnering with the county's Civil Air Patrol to conduct an open house.
"They are expanding and they are one of the most active units in the state," Stover said.
"We may look at it as a joint venture to publicize the airport and the patrol," Stover said.
"They are another wonderful organization that we have here in the county that I don't think anyone even knows about."
The board tabbed Stover and Commissioner Tom Bregger to the committee to come up with concrete plans to market and promote the airport to the community.
The airport board next meets on December 12. (FT, 10/11/17)
OCT 2017 County Doesn’t Need To Match Grant
Franklin County won't need to come up with the 10 percent match for an $11 million grant it will use to bolster and expand Triangle North Executive Airport.
During the airport board's meeting last week, committee members were already hashing out a plan to use that money to expand business opportunities on the field.
This summer, Franklin County secured an $11 million State Department of Transportation Division of Aviation grant, which would have required a just more than $1 million local match.
During the board's Oct. 10 meeting, though, Airport Director Stephen Merritt advised the airport authority that the state was going to provide 100 percent of the funding for its aviation grants this year.
"A lot of airports our size get allocations but can't come up with the 10 percent, so, what they did was, because they were backed up with money they can't grant, they said, how about we provide 100 percent for the next year?" Merritt said of the state's decision.
"Instead of funding $1.1 million to match, we don't have to do that and can breathe a bit easier," Merritt said.
"... We're extremely excited about this."
During the same meeting, airport commissioners were presented with an opportunity re-invest those funds.
Total Flight Solutions, which offers flight training and other commercial and aerial services, has essentially outgrown its hangar space on the field.
"We're asking for some type of solution to get more space to operate," said Phil Greene, Total Flight Solution's president.
Merritt said using that $1 million to build a new hangar could be that solution.
"That is a possibility," Merritt said. "That's the opportunity I see."
Greene and Al Mattress, a pilot for Total Flight Solutions, said, ideally, they'd like to consolidate their business into a roughly 12,000-square-foot hanger currently occupied by Todd Huvard with Aircraft Merchants, which shares the space with tenants who have five other planes.
The space is key, Greene and Mattress said, but, more than that, the location is the selling point.
"We feel like being a flight school and the operation we have, we need to be up here on the front line," Mattress said, "because getting customers in the parking lot, through the [terminal], they're going to be looking for the school right there.
"I think it would be very detrimental [to be further down]," he said. "It would detach us from the airport [to be further away]."
For his part, Huvard, who attended the meeting, said he would be willing to relocate.
And, Merritt said the tenants who share the other half of Huvard's hangar could be willing to relocate to a newly built hangar.
If that's true, said Airport Commissioner Dr. Phil Stover, working to get the county commissioners on board should be the easiest part of the process.
"If we go to commissioners and say: 'Look, we've got a tenant. We need the money to build a hangar ourselves. We need you so we can go out and make an investment.'
"If I've got tenants I know are going to pay $3,000 a month in rent and I need $2,000 (a month) to amortorize the loan, to me that's a no-brainer."
Since the match won't be required, and the airport is operating in the black, now, said Airport Commissioner and County Commissioner Shelley Dickerson, it might be the best time to explore building a hangar with county money.
"You're probably at your best position to ask now because we were preparing to do the match," Dickerson said. "[Still] I know there would be a lot of questions because I have some myself and I'm trying to predict others."
Merritt committed himself to speak with the current tenants to make sure they would be okay with moving.
Beyond that, he and the airport commission will work on drawing up the details required to build a new hangar, including expenses and revenues it could generate, both directly from rent, and indirectly from other growth at the airport.
Airport counsel and county attorney Pete Tomlinson said it would be beneficial to have those things squared away before presenting county commissioners with the proposal.
"Get the plan together first because, right now, we're talking about theory," he said. "... You've got to have a plan before you come to the board." (FT, 10/18/17)
#
2020
MAR 2020 Running For State House
Youngsville resident Matthew Winslow is the only person seeking the Republican party nomination for the House's District 7 seat.
Louisburg resident Dr. Phil Stover has filed for the Democratic party's nomination for the House District 7 seat.
They will face off in November. (FT, 3/4/20)
MAR 2020 Airport Commission Meeting
Airport officials moved one step closer to tidying up the airfield.
Going back to August, the Triangle North Executive Airport Advisory Board began discussions to address derelict aircraft that use the airport's tie down spaces -- the most visible crafts to visitors.
Later that fall, Airport Manager Bo Carson and Advisory Board member Frank Donahue began exploring resolutions, but got hung up on the true definition of derelict planes and, importantly, a fair mechanism to deal with them if they were deemed derelict.
By February, Advisory Board member Steve Trubilla urged fellow members to expedite a resolution.
In response, the advisory board tasked Trubilla and Donahue to investigate and craft a policy by which the airport would deal with derelict craft.
During the board's March 10 meeting, Trubilla recommended that the board use the policy crafted by Raleigh-Durham International Airport, amending it as needed to meet Franklin County's needs.
He said RDU's document has already passed the muster of issues that were holding back Franklin County.
"... They've put it through their lawyers," Trubilla said.
Trubilla suggested the authority send a notice letter to owners of the derelict craft -- about six or seven -- but airport board members said that would be putting the horse before the cart.
"I don't see how you could send out a notice without a policy [in place]," said Advisory Board Chair John Allers.
The advisory board tasked Carson with taking the findings provided by Donahue and Trubilla and pairing it with RDU's policy to craft a plan that works for the Franklin County airport.
Carson, noted though, the thing that stumped him would be what sort of enforcement would the policy require, if any.
"... What do you do if they don't [remediate the problem]," Carson told board members. "That's what I don't know, honestly."
Donahue said many policies don't have easily definable enforcement. But that doesn't mean the county should not work to address the issue.
"We can't let that hold us back," he said. "A lot of the language [in a policy] does not have enforcement in it, just like, if you look at the policy on building a plane in a hangar, it actually says the person building a plane in a hangar can be expected to produce benchmark time frames with the airport manager that are reasonable," he said.
"What is reasonable? So, it's not code language.
"It does not have an 'if this, then that' [enforcement to it].
"That's what we're up against," he said. "We probably can't do anything, but that shouldn't be the reason that you don't have a policy because most people are reasonable and they'll do something."
Trubilla agreed.
"[If you adopt a policy], 70 percent of the problem will go away," he said.
"Even if we get 70 percent compliance, that's a hell of a lot better than what we got right now," said Advisory Board member Dr. Phil Stover.
Right now, Carson said, there is "movement" on two of the six craft that would probably meet the derelict definition.
"That's a good sign," he said.
Carson said he would work to craft a plan for the advisory board's review and approval.
If that happens, the matter would go to county commissioners for ultimate approval.
The advisory board next meets on April 13. (FT, 3/25/20)
MAY 2020 Clinic Offering Free Virus Testing
-- A Franklin County free clinic is the first of its kind to provide free COVID-19 in the state.
This week, Franklin County Partners in Health will begin performing free tests for uninsured patients.
The clinic has ordered test kits from the state lab which should arrive within days, said Dr. Phillip Stover on Monday. Stover operates the clinic and his own practice in Louisburg.
Also, with the aid of a federal grant, Stover will be able to see uninsured patients free of charge in his practice, Louisburg Family Practice and Pain Management, for Covid 19 evaluations.
The clinic and practice have procured all the needed personal protective equipment, except N95 respirators, which have been requested from the state and should arrive soon, Stover said.
Standard masks will be provided to all patients who do not bring their own. All patients in the office/clinic are required to wear a mask.
Patients who are concerned they may have been exposed to Covid-19 may schedule appointments with either the clinic or practice by calling the following numbers.
For appointments Monday through Wednesday, call the practice at (919) 496-1247.
For appointments through the clinic, which meets only on Thursdays, call (919) 495-4441.
Appointments will be on a first-come first-served basis.
Franklin County Partners in Health is a charitable clinic that sees patients with chronic diseases who have no health insurance and live in Franklin County.
It currently operates on Thursdays and charges $3-$5 for visits.
Stover's Louisburg Family Practice and Pain Management is a private practice that works closely with Franklin County Partners in Health.
Currently in Franklin County, Impact Urgent Care, Advance Community Health, the Franklin County Health Department and Maria Parham Franklin provide COVID-19 testing.
At press time, there were 146 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Franklin County, with 20 deaths related to the disease. (FT, 5/27/20)
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