Langdon to retire

Town Manager Keith Langdon announced that his last day will be June 30, 2010, as he steps down after 25 years in local government.

In a letter to the mayor and commissioners, Langdon said he hopes the advance notice will give the town plenty of time to find his successor.

“I plan to remain in Benson and would like to see the Town of Benson continue to be the best place in which to live, work and play, and as always, I will be available to help anyway I can,” Langdon wrote.

Commissioners said finding someone of Langdon's caliber to fill the post will be a challenge.

“It's going to be hard to find somebody that's grown up here, that's known the people,” Commissioner Will Chandler said. He also cited Langdon's dedication to the job, noting that he once saw him driving around at 2 a.m. looking for burned-out streetlights.

Curfew renewed

The board renewed the town's youth curfew for another two years. Police Chief Kenneth Edwards said the law has been a model for other towns, and commissioners said it has brought down the crime rate.

“It seems like vandalism has decreased significantly since this was put into place,” Commissioner Frederick Nelson said.

The only concern about the curfew came from Commissioner Doug Oglesby, who disagreed with forcing parents to notarize permission letters for kids to stay out past curfew.

“That's certainly not something you can take care of in short notice,” Oglesby said. “It seemed a little stringent to me.”

Edwards said he hasn't seen problems with that provision of the law. “We put it there to put a little more responsibility back onto the parents,” he said.

Cash for cops' clunkers?

The board approved the purchase of two new Dodge Charger police cars at $22,081 each. But Chandler wondered whether the town could get rebates through the federal government's Car Allowance Rebate System.

“Do any of these vehicles qualify for the clunker?” he asked.

Langdon said he would look into the possibility. He noted that the $3,500 to $4,500 rebate would exceed what Benson could get on the Government Deals Web site, where the town normally sells its used cars.

Your name here?

Parks and Recreation Director Matt Smith said he wants to offer naming rights to donors on new facilities.

Smith noted that Dunn and Smithfield have successfully used similar efforts. He's looking for new ways to raise money for the Vyas Community Park, planned for the old Benson Middle School grounds.

“It's a good idea,” Smith said. “A lot of folks want to have their name on something to be remembered.”

As an example, Smith suggested that donors could name the playground or basketball courts for $25,000. He said the town could also sell bricks with names on them.

Junior firefighters

Commissioners approved a request from the Benson Fire Department to start a junior firefighter program for ages 16 to 18.

The program will give five teens the chance to learn more about firefighting. They will be able to join the department when they turn 18.

“It gives them an opportunity to decide if it's what they want to do,” Commissioner Ray Smith said.