Bertie DSS in New Home

Morris Rascoe, Director of Social Services for Bertie County is really proud of the new building the department just moved into. He is really proud of how the people in the department have taken this as their own. The move is described in the News-Herald article here.

When you approach the building off Alternate U.S. 17, just past the hospital, you will see the new sign to guide you. It is not there yet but it is coming soon. Hopefully it will be here before the dedication ceremony on August 4th, 2008 at 3:00 PM. At 2:00 PM on that same day the new road leading to the building, named for our great former commissioner Jasper Bazemore will also be dedicated.




The building is an attractive modern design at the end of the street. It was built by Ellis-Walker Builders of Fayetteville, NC from designs by DKWA Architects of Rocky Mount, NC. Bobby Clark was the Construction Superintendent and Richard Andrews was the Architect.




The entrance (shown below) has a button on the left so that those in wheel chairs can enter without assistance.




The reception area is spacious and has leads to the check in counter.




Each client will be greeted at the door to the left of check in and taken back to the office of the individual they are there to see. Morris had a couple of things to do when we got to his office and he got them out of the way while we waited for Jay Jenkins to join us.




One of the first things Morris showed us was the greatly improved security of the building . . . which allows for careful monitoring of everyone who enters.




Since client files are critical to service, the new filing system is a great improvement, using sliding files that are easily accessible but take up little space.




Morris (below) showed us how easy it was to find any file that was needed.




All of the people who handle clients now have their own offices. Below Ms. Mizelle shows her office.




There is also a new training facility, that uses a sliding wall to expand the area to even include the lobby when a really large space is needed.




The new building is impressive, and Morris is looking forward to the dedication ceremony when the public will get a chance to see this new capability to serve our residents. His pride is justified.