County eyeing Invest in Surry leftovers

County Manager Chris Knopf presented the county commissioners with a snapshot of remaining Invest in Surry funds showing what has been allocated and what may be available for reallocation.

He said that since initial Invest in Surry allocations were made that there have been four requests from groups for funding; he is anticipating another request is forthcoming but did not disclose the group.

“Each of these allocations when they were originally made the groups had until the end of this calendar year to tell the county how they were going to spend the fund and then have to have spent the funds by the end of 2026,” he said.

Knopf’s report showed a column that reflected funds which could be reallocated to other projects. That line item stands out for having an unencumbered balance of $1.85 million which he said may be able to be partially reallocated for other purposes if upcoming grants applications are approved for a water/sewer project for the animal shelter, Fisher River Park, and Hope Valley which were submitted in the end of April.

County Public Works Director Jessica Montgomery said she had been over the application for the water/sewer extension project and was given guidance on a few sticking points that led to the last grant application being denied. She said, “They got a little confused by the relationship between the parties because it wasn’t us providing sewer it was the Town of Dobson, but we have talked to them several times about it now.”

With some projects being completed under budget and other line items being eliminated from the Invest in Surry allocation — such as $45,000 for pandemic PPE (personal protective equipment) supplies that are no longer needed — there is a balance available to re-appropriate of approximately $113,514.

However, that is not enough to cover the four new requests that have come in from Copeland and Franklin Youth Foundation who have asked for funding for ballfield lights, the Shoals Ruritans have asked for help with a paving project, and funding for the Lifeline Pregnancy Center in Elkin.

“Right now, you have requests that are almost $311,000, so if you take out water/sewer you only have $110,000 to re-appropriate. If you wanted to fund all four projects, you don’t have enough to do it right now,” Knopf said.

He said that as the year goes on, “We will have a snapshot and if we see there is going to be unused money, or the water/sewer grant comes through, then we’ll have some money to re-appropriate at your discretion.”

Praising EMS workers, rescuers

At the meeting’s close Tucker spoke for a moment on the recent drowning death of Benny Ernest Bowers, 44, of Dobson in the Yadkin River, saying that he had a chance to go to the Surry County command center set up in Siloam to observe what he called a heart wrenching experience.

“About ten days ago we had a tragic incident down in my district, down in the neck of the woods where the Yadkin and Ararat Rivers meet. We have a young father and mother, and they had some children out in the river. There was a tragedy where the father saved two or three children but unfortunately he was not able to save himself,” he said.

“All of Surry County’s finest were there. Fire, rescue, multiple volunteers, multiple agencies, multiple pieces of equipment all trying to find this father who was the victim of this tragic accident,” Tucker said, painting a picture of the scene.

“They were dealing on the side with a widow and three little boys, so we had the Surry County Sheriff’s chaplain on site, and they were trying to console her and find this poor victim.”

With so many agencies including some from other counties, he said he was impressed with the level of communication and coordination of the search and rescue turned recovery mission.

“They had a two- or three-county coordination they were running out of that command center and they were talking with emergency services personnel in multiple counties and were even in contact at one point with the folks that let off the dam at the Wilkesboro Lake,” he said, adding that there had been discussion of curtailing the amount of water released into the Yadkin River from the lake to aid the searchers.

The search went on for more than a day until Bowers’ body was found late Monday morning. Tucker said, “It was a tragic ending and I want everyone to keep the family in their prayers. But I was proud of Surry County and the services that were offered. I was proud that there were people willing to help and all the coordination that went into making it happen.”

He spoke to a member of North Carolina State Emergency Management at the command post, saying that gentleman did not know who he was or what his role in the operation was. “He said there is no finer county in the state when it comes to emergency medical management, and he said they will do everything they can to accomplish their mission.”

Tucker said he thanked him for those kind words as a resident of Surry County. He added that the tragedy had been illuminating. “I left there with a little bit different perspective on what Surry County is and does — we are fortunate to live here. I want to take my hat off and salute all the volunteers, departments, fire, rescues, law enforcement because like I said it was a tragic ending but quite an accomplishment to witness.”

Tucker offered a special thanks to Amy and Thomas Nelson of Riverside Pizza and Grill whom we said, “were nice enough to open their store to provide provisions for the rescue teams.”