Safety forum
set for April 6

By FULLER ROYAL

Parents and residents concerned with the safety and wellbeing of the neighborhoods around Central Middle School are invited to an open community forum Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in the CMS cafeteria.

Whiteville City Schools Superintendent Danny McPherson said the forum will allow residents to vent any concerns or frustrations they have around the recent closing of West Whiteville Park and the shooting events that led up to that closing.

McPherson, who addressed the Whiteville City Council Tuesday night on the after-school safety of the CMS students, hopes that by opening a dialogue between school officials, town officials and the community at large, solutions can be found.

“We need to create a sense of unity among everyone,” he said. “We want to let folks know we’re committed to this school system and to the community as a whole.”

Two weeks ago, shots were fired at the West Whiteville Park after school, prompting Whiteville police officers to keep the CMS faculty “locked down” in the school’s media center, where they were holding their weekly teachers’ meeting.

In response to concern by McPherson and CMS Principal Beverly Boone, Whiteville City Manager Susan Rhodes and Whiteville Police Chief Jerry Britt ordered the park closed until new patrols and safety measures could be worked out.

“No one person has the solution,” McPherson said. He said that there is a lot of pride at CMS and that the students and staff have worked hard to bring the school’s overall image up.

“I want that quality of hometown living to continue,” he said.

McPherson hopes that representatives of various faith-based groups as well as business and civic leaders will be on hand to share ideas.

“We are looking for some down-to-earth folks to come in and help us,” he said.