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Civic leader Hobbs
die at age 81
By Joseph Pardington
Pemberton William Hobbs, a civic leader and former commissioner on
the Siler City Town Board, died Friday Jan. 27. He was 81.
Judging by the accolades Hobbs received the following week, he
will be sorely missed.
“Pem” Hobbs was many things, including a member of the Siler City
Rotary Club, a longtime Siler City resident and somebody with a
sense of humor.
Dennis Sawyer of Siler City recalled Hobbs’s light-hearted manner.
“He was a kidder. He just stayed a kid and enjoyed himself,”
Sawyer said. “He was the spirit of youth and kindness. Anybody
that was around him had a good chuckle.”
But Hobbs could be serious when needed.
“When it came to a worthy cause, he never hesitated,” Sawyer said.
For instance, Hobbs mentored a Siler City youth, Sawyer recalled.
And he was very active in other local causes.
“He helped form the mural society. He contributed freely of his
time and money,” said Sawyer.
The many historical murals in downtown Siler City are there, in
part, because of Hobbs’s efforts.
Hobbs also served on the Siler City Town Board for four years and
he helped organize the Optimist Club for Youth.
He worked as a mentor with Chatham Together and volunteered for
the American Heart Association.
He also volunteered with the Salvation Army.
Hobbs was born in Wilmington and raised in Raleigh.
Hobbs was a U.S. Marine, who served in the South Pacific
1945-1946.
He
graduated from North Carolina State University in 1952 with a
degree in Agricultural Engineering.
more-
See Thursday, Feb 2
paper:
Vol 86, No. 10
Health board probes change
By Cara McDonough
With an experienced interim health director on board, the Chatham
County Board of Health is exploring its options, including the
possibility of changing the entire setup of the county health
department.
At its most recent meeting, the county health board discussed the
possibility of the health department becoming a public health
authority.
What that means, explained former health board member Rachel
Stevens, is that the department would become its own entity,
separate from county government and separate from certain state
regulations.
Only two North Carolina counties - Cabarrus and Gates - currently
have public health authorities.
Stevens, who has a PhD in Public Health led a preliminary
discussion on the topic during the health board’s meeting last
Tuesday night.
“It frees county commissioners from dealing with controversial
health issues because you don’t have to go through the
commissioners with the budget,” Stevens said. “So public health
issues don’t become political issues.”
She said that is one of many benefits to becoming a public health
authority, with the overall benefit being more flexibility.
The authority would be governed by a board and would provide
health services in conjunction with local providers.
Many health directors like the idea, said Stevens.
Funding, she said, is the hard part.
“Health directors of public health authorities need a nose for
money,” Stevens said.
It’s their job to seek out funding sources for the health
department and to keep those sources coming, she said.
Stevens suggested that should the board be interested in this
option, they talk to health directors of both Cabarrus, an
established public health authority, and Gates, a very new public
health authority.
more- See Thursday, Jan 26
paper:
Vol 86, No. 9 |
