A community center in Morven is one step closer to reality.

Leon Gatewood and Subrina Hough presented a check for $1,500 to the Morven Town Council on behalf of HOLLA! for administrative services. The group recently received grants that will allow the project to move forward.

Gatewood said the HOLLA! Community and Development Resource Center would offer plenty of services to local citizens. There are plans for tennis and basketball courts, a media center, a literary cafe, a dance center and a ballroom for events.

Gatewood also gave a copy of the plans for the center to the council.

Council hears from DOT on long-term plan

The council listened to a presentation from Department of Transportation officials on a long-term transportation plan for Anson County.

Morven was the final stop on the tour of officials of Anson County.

Shannon Ransom, an official with the DOT, has been urging county leaders to adopt the plan in the future. She said adoption would make it easier to obtain money for transportation projects in the future.

Some members of the council were skeptical.

Councilman Ben Atkinson said he had heard of plans for a Wadesboro bypass, one of the elements included, 50 years ago. Ransom said she knew nothing of those plans but a Wadesboro bypass was offered as part of a transportation plan 20 years ago to county officials and never adopted.

Councilman Theodore Carr said a bypass could draw business away from town. Ransom said the project was designed to offer commuters a choice to travel around town.

"It may not be the design but it may be the effect," he said.

Ransom will meet with the town council again next week to further discuss their concerns.

"This is your plan," she said. She told the council the DOT was open to suggestions, which would still be judged on cost and feasibility.

Other business

Mayor Carolyn Solomon was temporarily appointed to the zoning board.

"We are looking for candidates who would be interested," she said.

At the town council meeting in May, Atkinson resigned from the zoning board and the council. He then rescinded his resignation from the council.

Morven Police Chief Alex Campbell said the town, like the rest of the county, has been "plagued" with break-ins.

"Crime has picked up," he said.

"We are working on trying to get traffic down a little bit in town," he said. The department is working with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the Anson County Sheriff's Office and the Wadesboro Police Department.