By Erin Smith
The Bladen County Board of Commissioners heard from two Bladen County citizens regarding issues with beavers in the county.
E. W. Bowen of East Arcadia addressed the board stating he believes the beaver issue needs to be placed back on the agenda for further discussion instead of waiting until July when a new budget year would begin.
“It’s real simple. We’ve been battling this thing on and on since 2014, religiously, in Bladen County,” said Bowen.
He told the board that something needs to be done about the beaver control issue now.
Also speaking was Lillian Graham, who is a resident of East Arcadia and serves on the East Arcadia Town Board.
“It’s not just an East Arcadia problem we are talking about. What we are talking about is a Bladen County problem,” said Graham.
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She noted that when Hurricane Florence struck, the damages were limited to East Arcadia. Graham said by comparison to other locations, East Arcadia was largely spared from the catastrophic damages.
Graham stated, “ I know that we have a problem with drainage. When you realize you have a problem, I’ve always been taught that when you recognize that there is problem, we do something about it.”
She emphasized there is a problem with beavers throughout the county.
“If the drainage is bad, the water table is almost to the top of the ground in a lot of areas. Then when it rains there is nowhere for that water to go. The water table is meeting the top of the ground,” said Graham.
She said the drainage issues, especially those being caused by the beavers, need to be addressed.
“Our main problem in Bladen County, as I see it and understand it, is the beavers. The beavers have built dams all over Bladen County. Until we have done something about this, we are going to continue to have problems,” said Graham.
She stated, with the frequency of natural disasters striking Bladen County, the county needs to take all of the steps it can to prevent further drainage issues. Graham emphasized that the beaver issue affects not just the citizens of East Arcadia but all of the citizens of Bladen County.
The board did not take any action on the matter.
In other business, the board was presented a certificate from BladenOnline.com for being voted as Bladen’s Best of the Best Place to Work. The Bladen’s Best of the Best contest was voted on by our readers who chose who they thought were the best in each category. The final results will be published in our upcoming edition of Bladen County Beautiful magazine.
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