Moore County Democrats will kick off their 2010 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 21, with a rally and fundraiser at the Pinecrest High School cafeteria from 5 until 8 p.m.

Sharing the spotlight with candidates and a barbecue dinner will be live entertainment in the form of an old-time band and a renowned storyteller, according to party spokes-person Mary Alice Wicker. All Democratic candidates, local and statewide, are being invited.

Because space is limited in the cafeteria, reservations are required. They can be made by calling Nancy Donley at (910) 949-3198 no later than Aug. 9. The cost is $15 for the barbecue dinner.

BABIES — Moore County Health Director Robert Wittmann will describe an urgent need for maternity care coordination to the Moore County Board of Commissioners on Monday.

He will request an exemption to the hiring freeze to fill a position that would be funded through billable fees.

Wittmann said his department has recently seen an increase in eligibility for these services.

The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Monday in the historic courthouse in downtown Carthage. The commissioners will convene an hour earlier for a closed meeting, to be adjourned or recessed for the regular open meeting at 5.

Jerry Daeke, chairman of the Board of Equalization and Review, will present his panel’s annual report during the meeting.

A public hearing is scheduled to consider a funding application by Moore County Transportation Services to the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Also on the agenda is a request from Gaston County to support a resolution asking state House Speaker Joe Hackney to reverse a ban on sectarian prayer in that chamber.

COBLE — Lindsay Morris, a member of Congressman Howard Coble’s Greensboro staff, will return to Southern Pines on Wednesday.

Morris will be at the new Southern Pines police station on West Pennsylvania Avenue from 10 a.m. until noon and from 1 until 3 p.m. Wednesday. Morris will handle constituent inquiries.

Coble will accompany Morris to Moore County on Aug. 25, when he will visit a local industry.

MOXLEY — Lesley Moxley, former Moore County attorney, has been appointed Onslow County’s first full-time county attorney.

The move returns the Lenoir County native to her roots in Eastern North Carolina.

Moxley is immediate past president of the North Carolina Association of County Attorneys. She resigned her position in Moore County in 2006 to accept a similar position in Macon County.

Onslow County in coastal North Carolina is the home of Jacksonville and the U.S. Marine base, Camp Lejeune.

SPOUSES — The Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program has been restructured and reinstated but not entirely to the satisfaction of U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.

The North Carolina Democrat pushed for reinstatement of the program but this past week expressed concern that the restructured MyCAA reduces eligibility and payments. She has expressed these concerns in a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Hagan told Gates that “Congress intended to provide spouses with support toward transitioning into more portable careers that would reduce disruption during the course of military-directed family relocations.”

The restructured program, she said, differs from the original program by providing benefits only to the spouses of first-time service members, thus excluding spouses of career service personnel.

It also differs by reducing the maximum tuition fee and by prohibiting the application of funds toward bachelor’s or master’s degrees, which are required for many careers, such as nursing, teaching and accounting.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at florence@thepilot.com.