Assistant Manager

Hired by County

Ken Larking has been selected as the new assistant county manager.

County Manager Cary McSwain announced Monday that Larking was chosen "after careful consideration of several highly qualified candidates." He will assume his new duties on Feb. 15. Beginning salary will be $103,000 annually.

Now the Yadkinville town manager, Larking has more than 10 years of diverse experience in government with emphasis on finance and budget.

McSwain said Larking has been instrumental in securing $2.4 million in grants for major utility system improvements, including construction of an off-stream reservoir, renovations to a water plant and construction of an elevated storage tank. He also helped Yadkinville secure $700,000 in grants to revitalize two neighborhoods and $400,000 to build the town's first park.

A former director of budget and performance management in Hickory, he also has experience with development of a land use plan, personnel policy, zoning maps and Web site.

"With such strong career experience, Ken brings to Moore County a broad spectrum of wealth and knowledge to our management team," McSwain said.

Larking is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in public administration. In addition, he holds certifications with his graduation from the UNC School of Government's Municipal Administration Course plus completion of courses in budget and financial planning and basic economic development. He is also a credentialed manager by the International City/County Management Association.

His wife, Michelle, is a native of Winston-Salem. They have a son, Alex, 8, and a daughter, Emily, 6.

The position of assistant manager has been vacant several months since Jeffery Parrott resigned and moved to Virginia to be close to family members.

N.C. 211 - Officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are holding an information meeting about the proposed expansion of N.C. 211 this (Wednesday) morning.

The 11 a.m. meeting will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the second floor of the historic courthouse in Carthage.

The topic will be improvement of N.C. 211 from the Pinehurst Traffic Circle to the N.C. 73 intersection in West End. The State Transportation Improvement Program describes the project as widening 7.2 miles to multi-lanes.

CLOSED - The NCDOT session follows a special 8 a.m. meeting of the Moore County Board of Commissioners that will be closed to the public.

The subject, unrelated to the highway project, involves three exemptions to the state Open Meetings Law: attorney/client privilege; property acquisition; and personnel matters.

VONCANON - The Moore County Planning Board has chosen Vice chairwoman Kim VonCanon to represent the board on the county's Hazard Mitigation Committee.

She fills the vacancy left by the recent death of Giles Hopkins.

County Planning Director Joey Raczkowski said local jurisdictions are required to develop a hazard mitigation plan by both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of North Carolina. He said the county cannot apply for federal disaster assistance if it does not have such a plan.

The county's present plan expires this year, and the committee will be responsible for preparing an updated plan.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at (910) 693-2479 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.