Storm debris pick-up to begin in Pender County

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A county-wide storm debris pick-up will begin in Pender County this week.

The Pender County Office of Emergency Management said the debris clean-up is going to take time and he urged residents to be patient.

“Residents with vegetative debris should leave leaves, branches, and tree limbs on the edge of the state right-of-way,” Pender County Emergency Manager Tom Collins said. “Please do not pile any debris under power lines or in a location that blocks vision of roadways.”

Debris should to be placed in a pile along the edge of the state right-of-way.

“For neighborhoods with vegetative debris, especially in Hampstead and the eastern portion of the county, pick-up should begin the week of Oct. 24,” said Collins. “We apologize for the delay but we still have serious flooding issues in the county.”

There will only be one pick-up for vegetative materials, so residents should be ready.

The county emergency office continues to deal with issues related to flooding along the Black River and Northeast Cape Fear River. Collins said the county must pick up animals that died as a result of the flooding first. That is an immediate health hazard.

Contractors are not permitted to enter private property or private roads for debris pick-up. Residents living in private subdivisions with private roadways should take their debris to the connecting edge of the state road right-of-way.

“We want to thank the citizens of Pender County for their patience,”Collins said. “Hurricane Matthew left us with three events to clean up – vegetative debris from the high winds, debris from flooding along the Northeast Cape Fear River and the debris from the Black River Basin.”

Pender County Emergency Management will post updates on the Facebook page at facebook.com/penderem and on the website. If you need assistance call the EM office at 910- 259-1210.