Dr. James Taylor made it official Friday, when he announced his candidacy for the 6th Congressional District Republican nomination.

He is opposing incumbent Congressman Howard Coble.

Taylor made his announcement at the Liberty Showcase Theater in Liberty, where he also signed his bonded term limits agreement with the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits.

A Pinehurst anesthesiologist, Taylor said he "is committed to restoring the flow of fresh ideas and energy into the legislative process, while reinforcing the Founders' beliefs in limited tenure in the House of Representatives."

If elected, Taylor said he would limit his tenure in the House to a maximum of six years.

Taylor said the beneficiary of his bonded pledge is the Moore County Sentinels of Freedom, a Pinehurst-based charity dedicated to assisting military personnel who have sustained brain trauma and other combat injuries.

Taylor, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has practiced anesthesiology since 1999. He is a small business owner with corporate activities in Moore, Richmond and Scotland counties, employing physicians and mid-level health-care providers.

SEWER PLANT - The Moore County Board of Commissioners will be asked Monday to authorize a contract with the Hobbs Upchurch & Associates engineering firm to begin plans for an upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant at Addor.

The upgrade is expected to cost $32 million.

The commissioners will meet at 4 p.m. Monday in the historic courthouse in Carthage.

The board will be asked to authorize the transfer of all interest earned from the education bond funds above the $400,000 public school allocation to the General Fund for debt service interest payments on the bonds.

Among three public hearings to be called for the board's Feb. 15 meeting is a quasi-judicial hearing on a request by MHK Ventures Inc. for a zoning change for the Pine Forest development on N.C. 211 southeast of West End.

Two other hearings to be called for the Feb. 15 meeting will concern public comment on an infrastructure hook-up needed to close a Community Development Block Grant and a rezoning request from Rural Equestrian to Business-2 (highway commercial).

GOP PRECINCTS - Republicans in the Seven Lakes Precinct will meet at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Seven Lakes Firehouse.

The meeting is called to elect delegates to the county GOP convention and to prepare for the upcoming general election season.

Eastwood Republicans will hold their precinct meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Eastwood Firehouse. They will also elect delegates to the county convention and will discuss plans for election year activities.

Bob Levy, chairman of the Moore County Republican Party, says all registered Republicans in these precincts are urged to attend their meetings.

JUDGES - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nominations of North Carolinians Albert Diaz and Jim Wynn for appointment to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Diaz's nomination was unanimous, and Wynn had one opposing vote.

"Judges Jim Wynn and Al Diaz were both approved by the Judiciary Committee today, with the overwhelming support of both Democrats and Republicans," said U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan in a news release Thursday. "North Carolina's nominees for the 4th Circuit have for far too long been held up by petty, partisan politics. North Carolina, the largest state within the 4th Circuit, has been under-represented for the court's entire 118-year history."

Hagan said she took her concern on this issue directly to the president and told him that North Carolina deserves more than one seat on the 4th Circuit.

"Today, fair representation for our state is one step closer to a reality," Hagan said.

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