* approved the minutes of June 11, 2002 (regular meeting); and

 * approved fabric structure permit and request from Larry Moore on behalf of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation ARide for Kids@ fund raiser event on August 25, 2002.

   In other activities, Town Council:

 * heard a report from Golf Course Manager Chris Shute regarding activities at the Lake Lure golf course;

 * approved fee rate schedule for the rental of the Lake Lure gazebo and community hall;

 * authorized the town manager to have certain town property surveyed; and

 * adopted Ordinance No. 02-07-09 amending Chapter 50, Section 50.04 of the Town Code of Ordinances to allow a delay for the mandatory connection to the town water system and provide for an increase in connection fees where connections are delayed.

TOWN EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

by Betty Hinson, Personnel Director

 Wendy Halsenbalg, employee of the month, has been with the Town of Lake Lure since August of 1999.  Wendy started her employment on a part time basis and became a full time employee on July 1, 2000.

Wendy is a fire office assistant and her duties are many and varied.  She assists Ron Morgan, our fire service and emergency management co-ordinator, with paper work and schedules for the four fire departments in our area.  Wendy also presents fire prevention programs in the area, as well as directing monthly fire drills at the Busy Bee Day Care Center.

Wendy graduated from R.S. Central High School and attended Campbell University and Isothermal College.  Wendy has been a volunteer with the Bill's Creek Fire Department for the past two years.  Wendy, thank you for a great job.

COMMUNITY POLICING NEWS

by Chief Mike Bustle 

We are pleased to report that the recently conducted two-day Boater Safety Classes offered by the N.C. Wildlife Commission and the Lake Lure Police Department on May 22nd, 23rd and July 22nd, 23rd, 2002 produced the largest number of graduates ever.  Each of the classes had approximately fifteen graduates of the course, who received state certificates of completion.  Thanks go to officers Mitch Kirkland and Jason McKinney of the N.C. Wildlife Commission, and Sgt. Rick Tullis and Officer Tabby Ruppe of the Lake Lure Police Department, who conducted very professional courses of instruction.  Hopefully, these proactive courses will continue to be as well attended and produce many more safe boat operators on our area waterways.

We are also pleased to report that Sgt. Tullis's Women's Safety Class is well underway and has been well attended.  Modules one, two and three have been completed to date, and the two modules concerning hands-on Physical Control Tactics and Countermeasures are pending.  Please note that ladies of the Gorge area may attend any or all of the offered classes.  The final two safety classes will be offered on Monday, August 5th, at 5:00 p.m., and Monday, August 19th, at 5:00 p.m.  Please take advantage of these most valuable course offerings.

GOLF COURSE NEWS

by Charlie Greeson, Pro Shop Clerk

Last month I put in a prayer request for rain;  thanks to all of you who participated.  I know it worked because the prayers were answered.  We got the rain just before the course turned to toast.  We could still use some more because the reservoir is still low; however, we do have enough in the substrate now to carry the turf into August.

Turf quality is what we need the water for and turf quality is what has made this course come alive with more play than anyone has seen in a long time.  We played over 10,000 18-hole rounds this last fiscal year.  Our gross revenue was over 100% more than the year before our current manager Chris Shute came.  His philosophy of Aget the turf quality and greens right and they will come@ has shown to be the perfect formula for a successful enterprise here.  Policies that have been put into effect have helped bring in the revenue needed to keep making improvements to the overall course.  We have had increases in our expenses for materials such as lime, fertilizer, chemicals, and insurance that has made it necessary to have some slight increases in prices over previous years.  Even at that, we are still effective competitors with other area courses for price and quality.  We don=t know of any course that has a lower price for a single membership.

Speaking of memberships, those who are going to renew for the coming year need to do so. With our current limitation on memberships, we will be canceling those that are past due.  For anyone interested in buying or renewing, the prices are:

Memberships:   Single      Family of 2     Addit.

Annual            $200.00     $300.00          $50.00

Semi-Ann.       $150.00     $200.00       $40.00

More Stuff :

Tournaments coming up-

August 3rd and 4th - Two Man Best Ball/ Captain=s Choice

Saturday - 2 Man Best Ball- tee time 9:00 a.m.(Flighted after Saturday=s round.)

Sunday - 2 Man Captain=s Choice - tee time 9:00 a.m.

Entry Fee: $50.00 per person, includes cart

   A Schedule of Events is posted on the bulletin board next to the front door of the pro shop for your review at any time.  Call or come by for more information or to sign up for any tournament, any time.  Entry fees are collected on the day of the tournament.

Even More Stuff :

New improvements: We have added red and white yardage marker posts to the middle of the fairways for 100 and 150 yards, respectively.  We already had the red and white strips on the cart paths.  Now, with the added posts, it will be easier to determine the distance to the center of the green from more positions on the course.  Chris says blue ones are coming for the 200 yard mark.

A new policy has been instituted in regard to children.  Due to the slow play we have experienced with children and the volume of play and resulting complaints from regularly playing adult golfers, we have restricted play of children golfers under the age of 13 years until after 2:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.  While we are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause some, and realize there are some who will not hold up play, it will be a benefit for the vast majority of golfers who play here.

Thanks again for the prayers for rain.  Keep'em comin'!  Everybody who says a prayer for rain gets a free drop from anywhere on your next round.

COMMUNITY FIRE NEWS

by Ron Morgan, Lake Lure Fire Coordinator

Hopefully everyone has heard that our fire insurance rating has changed.  Effective in June of this year our rating dropped from a 9S to a 6/9S, this means that everyone within a 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant or 1,000 feet of the lake will receive about a 25-30% reduction in their property insurance.  If  you are eligible and have not contacted your insurance company yet do so as soon as possible.  If you have any questions concerning this please contact me at 828-625-9333.

 A few years ago the County re-addressed all of the roads and issued everyone a new address.  Many of you have still not posted your new address.  This is very important to aid the Fire, EMS, and Police in locating you should you ever need us. If  your house is located within 100 feet of the road and clearly visible, place the address on your house.  If  your house is not readily visible or is back off of the road the address should be posted on your mailbox or on a post at the road in front of your house.  The numbers should be a minimum of three inches and should contrast with the background so they are readily visible, reflective numbers work great.  If you do not know your physical address you can contact the county addressing department and they will make it available to you.

REALIZE RUTHERFORD

by Blaine Cox, Commissioner

 On July 11th over 400 Rutherford County citizens joined together at Isothermal Community College to participate in visualizing our county's future.  The first step was to identify the most important categories on which to focus.  Participants, including former Mayor Max Lehner, myself, and other Lake Lure and Chimney Rock residents formed smaller discussion groups and each group developed a list of priorities.  After completion, everyone came back together and priorities were combined to provide the following category rankings:

1) Economic Development 6) Growth Management

2) Education                         7) Health&Medical Serv.

3) Quality of Life                8) Housing

4) Infrastructure                 9) Youth Issues

5) Government                 10) Land Use Planning

On the last two Fridays in July and the first two Fridays in August, focus groups will meet to identify more specific issues under each category and develop action plans.  This strategic planning effort will be reviewed and consolidated by the 35 member Steering Committee, Task Force, and Vision Partners.  On September 18th this draft will be published in the newspaper.  October 28th a Community Meeting will be held for final input to the plan.  On November 28th it will be distributed to the public.  Implementation will begin in January 2003 under the 100+ Vision Partners comprised of businesses, churches, civic organizations, and similar groups.

Over the past several weeks, benchmarks have been published in the Daily Courier to provide information about our county.  A summary follows to help understand the challenges we face:

Poverty- 6,833 Rutherford County residents lived below the poverty line in 1989.  In 1999 that figure grew to 8,513, an increase of 1,630 or 23.7%.  These numbers do not reflect those who may have dropped below the poverty line as a result of the major layoffs experienced in the past 2 2 years.

Population- Between 1980 and 2000, the average number of people reaching the age of 19 each year was 847.  During the same period, only an average of  381 new jobs were created each year, indicating the most of our young had to leave the county to find a job.

Per Capita Income- Rutherford County=s per capita income as a percent of U.S. per capita income has been declining since 1994.  In 1994 it was at 78%  and declined to 72% in 2000.

9th Grade Student Retention- In 1993-94 there were 935 ninth-grade students in Rutherford County and 54.3% of them finished high school.  In 1996 there were 913 ninth-graders and it is estimated that 54.8% graduated.

Murder/Suicide Rates- The suicide rate in Rutherford County in 2000 is 3 times the murder rate.  There were 12 suicides in the county, 10 of which occurred in the 20 to 64 age bracket.

Age 65 & Above- Rutherford County=s population in this bracket is 16% while the state has 12% and the nation has 12.4%.

Government Jobs- Since 1980, this category has increased 4.9% to 3,752 and the average earnings in 2000 were $29,227.

Service Jobs- Since 1980, this category increased by only 172 to 6,718 and the average pay is $21,453, which is nearly $7,000 less that the North Carolina average and nearly $12,000 less that the national average.

Manufacturing Jobs- In 2000, these jobs averaged $32,437 including fringe benefits in Rutherford County.  North Carolina=s average was $40,939 and national average was $50,161.  Rutherford County has lost an estimated 4,000 manufacturing jobs in the last 5 years.

Retail Jobs- Since 1980, the number of retail jobs in Rutherford County has increased by only 70 per year.  The average pay is $17,124 in 2000, which is $1,000 less than the North Carolina average and $2,000 less than nationally.

 The western part of our county is actively included in this planning and we must stay involved.  As the process continues, the public will be kept informed and your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

NEWS AROUND LAKE LURE

 Lake Lure Newcomers invite those who are new residents in Lake Lure (24 months or less) to join them in various activities which include: potluck, gourmet, out=n about, theater, bridge/poker, book club, and hiking.  Anyone interested in becoming a member, call Hugh or Nancy Pinney at 828-625-0867.

 Lake Lure Fun Center is now open from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m.       

 is now open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

 August 19 - the last of the evening street dances scheduled for the summer will be at the Lake Lure Community Center, next to the Visitor Center. Call 828-625-2725 for more information.

 The friends of the Mountain Branch Library are sponsoring a APot-Pourri Benefit@.  They are having a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  There will be raffles, silent auction, food and beverage, entertainment, etc.  This benefit will be held on Sunday, August 18th, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Herrmann International, 794 Buffalo Creek Rd. in Fairfield. The cost is $7.50 per person.  If you would like further information please call 625-0456 and ask for Melanie Greenway.