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Send us your news Public Service Announcement Submit Advertising Classified Advertising Issue Archives 1 November 2007 |
Michigan transplant enjoys Pikeville life
By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer
8 November 2007 — Though Pikeville’s new town administrator might be a newcomer to the South, he said he’s no stranger to living in small communities.
Richard Lock came to Pikeville a little over a week ago to begin his job as the new town administrator. He is relocating here from a small township in Michigan.
Richard said that, while he grew up in larger communities, he doesn’t see the benefits to big cities that many people do.
“I’m not real big on big cities,” he said. “I prefer living in a smaller community.”
Richard got a good taste for small community when he attended college in Michigan. He went to Adrian College, which is located in the small town of Adrian, MI.
“Small schools are quite different from larger colleges,” he noted. “You get the chance to do a lot more things, and you pretty much know everyone.”
Those qualities are some of the same reason he enjoys living and working in a small town like Pikeville.
Richard said he first came to Pikeville this summer, when he had an informal meeting with the mayor and town clerk. He said this experience went very well for him, and shone a good light on the town.
“I had time to wonder around when I was here,” he said. “It seems like a nice town, and I got along well with the people who work here.”
From there, he said, things just kind of happened. He said he wanted to relocate to North Carolina, and the town wanted to interview him around the same time, and things just seemed to work out.
“Things just got to the point that I thought a change needed to be made, and things worked out for me here,” he said.
Though he is familiar with small town life, he said he has noticed some differences in eastern North Carolina – differences that he enjoys.
“Things are a lot more spread out here, but the towns seem to be interlocking,” he said. “People just have a different approach to things than they do in Michigan. But most of the people seem quite nice.”
Richard officially began working in Pikeville on October 25. Though he hasn’t been here for very long, he said he is looking forward to working with the town and the individual citizens.
“People seem to pay attention here,” he said. “The smaller towns like this are more in touch with what’s going on and what’s important.”
He said he gets the impression that Pikeville is a town that has high expectations of everyone in the community, something that many places are lacking these days.
But at the center of what he does is something very important to Richard – public service.
“I grew up doing public service, and it’s very important to me,” he said.
In addition to serving the community through his day job, Richard said he really enjoys volunteering with the youth of the community.
“I believe you’ve got to get to young people early and make them see that they can learn well,” he said.
He has previously done a lot of volunteering and tutoring at elementary schools, something he hopes to do here.
When he isn’t busy working, Richard said he enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife have four children. One of his sons and one of his daughters are in college; he also has an 11 year-old son and a daughter who is six.
He said he also enjoys traveling and taking short day trips with his family. He said that’s another benefit to the location of Pikeville, because both mountains and the beach are close enough to take short trips.
As Richard becomes more acclimated with the town, he said he sees a lot of potential for the little municipality.
“There are lots of things going on, lots of projects,” he said.
He feels that the projects the town is undergoing now will allow the town to attract both businesses and residents in the future.
“I think this is a town that wouldn’t mind growing, if it doesn’t grow too fast,” he said.
Issue of 8 November 2007 Headlines Michigan transplant enjoys Pikeville life New faces elected to area boards CBA grad made Marine squad leader Glover, Lane to marry next month Pikeville Board rezones for horses Football: CBA ends season in fourth place Soccer: Falcons head to third round of championships Norwayne: Cobras end fall sports at top of game Wayne Wilson News Leader Princeton News Leader Email us: |
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