ROCKINGHAM — The city of Rockingham will present a medal, posthumanously, to one of the community’s heroes at their monthly meeting Tuesday and will recognize seven every-day heroes, Rockingham police officers, for completing certificate programs.
David Covington, who passed in May 2019, found himself in a situation where he was called to act, and his actions saved the life of then 6-year-old Haiden Prevatte. Covington, at the age of 72, was waiting behind a school bus on Billy Covington Road in January 2019 when he saw two large dogs attack Haiden as she was getting off the bus.
Thinking quickly, Covington got out of his car and found what he called a “perfectly shaped” stick, and proceeded to yell and beat the dogs to scare them away. Haiden was airlifted to Chapel Hill where she was treated for 21 puncture wounds — one of which punctured her right lung — two broken ribs and three gashes in her head, which required staples, according to her mother, Candace Prevatte. In all, Haiden had over 20 stitches was breathing with the help of a chest tube for a period following the attack.
Haiden missed two weeks of school and made a full recovery, and, along with her older brother, Jody, who witnessed the attack, was placed in ongoing therapy to address lingering effects of the trauma.
Covington, a volunteer fireman and board member with the Northside Volunteer Fire Department, said after the incident that, “Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time. You just jump out and do what you’ve got to do.”
“Without him being at the right place at the right time, I would no longer have my daughter,” Prevatte told the Daily Journal last year at a banquet in honor of Covington.
The Rockingham City Council will present Covington with the Carnegie Medal, given to Carnegie Heroes, at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. A total of 10,117 Carnegie Medals have been awarded since the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s inception in 1904, according to a press release.
Commission Chair Mark Laskow said each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant. The commission is named after industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
Police honors
The Rockingham City Council will also recognize seven police officers who have completed the Law Enforcement Officers’ and the Criminal Justice Officers’ Intermediate Certificate Program. Those officers are: Sgt. Lee Leviner, Officer David Gallops, Det. Joshua Leviner, Lt. Matt Baldwin, Officer Evan Frye, Officer Joshua Lampley, and Officer Franklin Smith.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s website, these certificates are earned if the officer…
• has accumulated at least thirty-two (32) education and/or training points and at least eight (8) years experience, or
• has accumulated at least forty (40) education and/or training points and at least six (6) years experience, or
• has accumulated at least forty-eight (48) education and/or training points and at least four (4) years experience, or
• has an Associate Degree issued by an academic institution recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; has accumulated at least sixteen (16) training points and at least four (4) years experience, or
• has a Baccalaureate Degree issued by an academic institution recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; has accumulated at least eight (8) training points and at least two (2) years experience.
The Rockingham City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 in the council chambers of City Hall located at 514 Rockingham Rd. They meet every second Tuesday of each month.
Hamlet agenda
In Hamlet, the council will consider the rezoning of 304 Henderson St., the location of the Church of the Holy Spirit, from B-2 General Business to R-6 Residential.
The church has requested the rezoning because it plans to sell the property and “feels they would have a better opportunity to sell it as a residential dwelling,” according to the minutes from a Hamlet Planning and Zoning Board meeting on Aug. 19, 2019.
J.P. Haines, the owner of the church, said they have owned the property since 1988 and recently sold another property across the street, which has since become a real estate office. Haines said a realtor has said that the 304 Henderson property “could have been sold several times if it was (zoned) residential.”
The council will also consider an ordinance to demolish 720 Washington Ave., owned by Sarah Bryant, which has been deemed unfit for human habitation. City staff stated that a recent inspection showed the property has “holes and cracks in the structure, violations of the State building code, collection of rubbish which constitutes a fire hazard in the structure, broken glass at door that is not secured, and outside porches that are severely deteriorated that constitutes a hazard.”
The property is also located near an Elementary school. According to city staff, the property owner has not made any contact with the city since fines began June 29, 2016, and fines have since ceased due to them now exceeding the tax value of the property.
Mayor Bill Bayless will appoint retired Hamlet Police Chief Scott Waters to the Hamlet Housing Authority Board.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at City Hall located at 201 West Main St. in Hamlet.
