Don Davis holds tour in Plymouth
PLYMOUTH - Newly elected Congressman Don Davis wrapped up his Living the Dream Down East Tour last Thursday evening as area residents, along with county and city officials filled the Vernon G. James Research Center in Plymouth to listen to what Davis had to say.
As a candidate, he made a promise during his 2022 campaign to return to the district to hear what the people had to say. He fulfilled that promise and returned as a Congressman, prepared to listen.
“So, I’m saying tonight this is about living up to a promise. We’ve traveled here before, we’ve been in the counties, but one thing that was important to me that I promised is that I would be back,” said the Congressman. “I’m back. We fulfill that promise tonight.
“Together, I believe it’s important for us to tackle these challenges that are still facing us,” he continued. “We have so many challenges: healthcare, education, building a stronger economy. To do that, we’re gonna need broadband. We’re gonna need housing. That is a major issue. I continue, continue to hear about so many issues that are out there”.
Residents from Martin, Bertie, Washington and Tyrell counties filled close to one hundred seats as Davis listened attentively.
Bear Grass Mayor Charlotte Griffin brought a major volunteer fire department problem to Davis’ attention. Griffin highlighted a problem that plagues many rural fire departments due to a federal mandate that could cause engines to malfunction.
“I wanted to say something on behalf of what you heard from the fireman over here,” she said. “I know there are others in this room that represent emergency services and fire. There is a critical problem that they have and it’s called ‘diesel exhaust systems’ that are in their fire vehicles and their rescue vehicles.
“We are a rural area,” she continued. “We answer calls, but they’re not every day, every hour, every minute. In larger places where they’re answering calls suddenly the engine quits.”
Stating this is a huge issue in rural areas, Griffin went on to explain how this causes failures in the trucks.
“When they jump in the truck and they start down the road, it causes the truck to cut off,” she said. “They have to stop, pull to the shoulder, crank the trucks, reset the computers to make it run well, that delays their response. Not only that, it causes breakdowns on those trucks. And last year, the Bear Grass fire department alone, the little volunteer fire department at Bear Grass, spent over $6,000 in repairs for this issue.”
With less than six weeks in Washington, due primarily to the difficulties in electing a new Speaker of the House and convening the Congress, Davis had not yet been aware of the problems caused by the regulation, but promised to look into it.
Griffin suggested the possibility of a federal waiver for fire rescue equipment so they wouldn’t have to conform to the costly regulation.
While officials voiced concerns about local issues like population decline, infrastructure repair costs and the job and housing markets, others focused on Broadband and how it hinders the ability for a business to grow. Others still were concerned with cuts to Medicare, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies.
Wesley Stokes, a Tyrrell County resident, asked Davis for a commitment to not defund the F.B.I., Medicare or Social Security.
That hit a chord with Davis, who was with an F.B.I. Agent earlier in the day and proudly displayed a picture of the agent while humorously asking Martin County Sheriff Tim Manning to be his “trusted agent” and verify the picture.
Davis also committed to not supporting any cuts to Medicare, Social Security or law enforcement.
Davis also shared some positive news for Eastern North Carolina. Realizing his district has an agricultural and defense-based economy, the freshman Congressman campaigned for and was appointed to the Agricultural Committee and the Armed Services Committee.
“And it’s not just North Carolina, it’s North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virgin Islands. I mean, these are just some of the states in our region,” he said. “I’m glad to share with you in reporting that we convened as a region and your congressman was nominated and elected unanimously.
“To be the regional representative for our region, not just leading North Carolina, but all of the states in region seven. And that’s huge. That’s huge because I want to put that into perspective. I was the only freshman member in the entire country elected to serve as a regional representative, so that not only put me in the committee fighting for even freshman members, this is for all of the members in our jurisdiction,” said Davis.