Town of Benson recently issued the following announcement.
UPDATED 3-29-20
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Office of the North Carolina Governor announced Executive Order 121 — ordering North Carolinians to remain in their homes except for performing essential work. This order will go into effect Monday, March 30, 2020, at 5pm and will last for 30 days.
The Town of Benson urges its residents to follow this order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We understand that the impact of a 30-day quarantine will certainly add additional stress in these uncertain times for not only our residents but our local businesses as well. However, the health, safety, and wellbeing of the people that make Benson what it is — the best small town in North Carolina — remains our top concern.
Benson and Johnston County at large have been fortunate to have not experienced the tumultuous and chaotic scenes witnessed in other areas of the United States and the world. We want to keep things that way and we highly encourage residents and businesses to adhere to Order 121 to not only keep themselves safe, but their neighbors as well.
Benson Town Hall and all Town facilities will now close Monday, March 30, 2020, at 5pm and remain closed for the duration of Order 121. Residents with town-related questions can still call (919) 894-3553 as phones will be manned during normal business hours. Residents needing to pay utility bills can use Town Hall’s night dropbox at any point in the day, pay bills online (https://ipn.paymentus.com/cp/tbup), or call and pay over the phone (previous restrictions on phone call payments have been temporarily lifted). In addition, all electric and water cutoffs have been suspended at this time and will continue to be suspended throughout this statewide stay-at-home order.
The Benson Police Department’s main lobby entrance will also be locked during this time. To gain immediate access to an officer on site, people can use the yellow call-box at the front door to the Police Department. As always, for all life-threatening emergencies — dial 911. For non-emergencies, the BPD can be reached at (919) 894-2091.
Benson Parks and Recreation, the Benson Museum of Local History, and the Mary Duncan Public Library will remain closed.
We continue to monitor COVID-19 locally everyday and, while we know small businesses are having a difficult time with the constantly changing rules, we encourage all business owners to read Order 121 thoroughly (as well as the accompanying Frequently Asked Questions document) and follow it.
Governor Roy Cooper is seeking voluntary cooperation from all state residents and businesses to ensure the health and safety of our communities — the Town of Benson fully intends to enforce the Order first and foremost for the safety of its residents.
“As we’ve said many times, our top priority is the safety of our residents. This Order has been deemed necessary on a statewide level and the Town of Benson is in full cooperation for the wellbeing of our populous,” said Town Manager Fred Nelson.
“We fully understand the difficulties that our residents and businesses are facing during this time. We look forward to a time when quarantines and stay-at-home orders are a thing of the past and we hope by following this Order — no matter how stressful — will ensure that we see that sooner rather than later,” added Mr. Nelson.
For more information about health recommendations and who is designated at high risk for becoming seriously ill, please visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS’ website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus.
Read Order 121 in its entirety here:
https://files.nc.gov/…/Divi…/EM/EO121-Stay-at-Home-Order.pdf
Read the Frequently Asked Questions document here:
https://files.nc.gov/…/files/200327_FAQ-SAH-Order_FINAL.pdf…
Sources for Johnston County COVID-19 information:
Johnston County Government
Johnston County Public Schools
https://www.johnston.k12.nc.us/
Visit Johnston County, NC
https://www.johnstoncountync.org/joco-strong/
Resources for small business:
Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC):
https://edpnc.com/nc-business-relief-resources-covid-19/
Original source can be found here.
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