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An estimated 400 property owners have signed up for water service in the North West Moore Water District.

Tony Patnode, community development director, plans to hold early sign-up sessions in the district on into the spring months in an effort to make the process as convenient as possible

The next early sign-up session is scheduled for Thursday, April 8, at the Eagle Springs Fire Department. The North West Moore Water District Advisory Committee will meet for an update at 6 p.m. that day and will hold the sign-up from 6:30 until 7:30.

This will be the seventh early sign-up session since the process began in the winter months. Another session is planned for Thursday, April 15, from 6 until 7:30 p.m. at Brown’s Chapel Church.

The county commissioners will conduct a public hearing on a proposed $16 million bond referendum to support the water district at a 6 p.m. April 5 meeting.

Early sign-up is seen as an advantage both for the county and for water users. It gives county planners a tool when it comes to applying for federal assistance in developing the water system. For potential customers, it means a hefty discount on tap fees. People who sign up in advance of construction work pay a $250 tap fee. Later, the fee climbs to its regular height of $1,375.

GEORGE LITTLE — The George W. Little gubernatorial campaign pace stepped up this week with his first 60-second radio ad.

Former Gov. Jim Holshouser, former First Lady Dottie Martin and former Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner, his campaign co-chairs, are featured on the inaugural ad.

Little, a Southern Pines businessman, is one of seven Republicans who are announced candidates for governor.

In his segment of the ad, Holshouser says no one is better qualified to lead the state than Little and reminds listeners that Little served as secretary of natural and economic resources during his administration. Holshouser also lives in Moore County.

“He knows what it takes to turn our economy around and create jobs,” Holshouser says.

“North Carolina needs a conservative businessman as governor, and George Little is that man,” says Gardner. “He understands that raising taxes has hurt our state, and he knows how to balance a budget.”

“I know a governor when I see one, and George Little is a governor,” adds Dottie Martin, whose husband is former Gov. Jim Martin.

“The stature of Jim Holshouser, Jim Gardner and Dottie Martin will send a strong message that I am the Republican candidate most qualified to be governor and best equipped to win the office,” Little said of their endorsements.

Little says that he has already traveled across the state and talked to thousands of people about his “plan to restore North Carolina’s economy.” He says that the radio ad will reach even more people.

STRAW POLL — Interest in the GOP nomination is generating a number of informal surveys and straw votes across the state.

The latest report from state Sen. Fern Shubert, another candidate and the only woman seeking the nomination, shows her as the winner, with 44.3 percent of the votes, in a straw poll taken at a debate in Greenville on March 27.

Richard Vinroot, a former mayor of Charlotte, placed second with 18 percent, followed by Dan Barrett of Burke County, 14.7 percent. Little picked up 9.8 percent of the votes, with state Sen. Patrick Ballantine and former GOP state chair Bill Cobey getting 6.6 percent apiece.

The debate sponsored by BAC-PAC (Back All Conservatives Political Action Committee) was held at Pitt Community College and was broadcast over WNCT-TV. However, only 61 votes were cast by the estimated 75 Republicans in attendance.