Tough times, tough decisions

Editor’s Note: Over the next few months, The Free Press will share life stories from three local residents — Gloria Miller, Marion Harris and Billy Bell — on how they are dealing with job layoffs, retraining for the workforce and the recession. We first introduced these residents to you on Sunday, Jan. 31 and will revisit them periodically through the end of May. 

TRENTON — After Billy Bell’s monthly unemployment benefits were cut last week, he was forced to make a decision he didn’t want to make in the interest of his son.

Bell, 41, placed his one-story Trenton home for sale because he could no longer afford the payments and will likely move in with his mother who lives in New Bern once the house is sold.

“I called the real estate agent and they came out and took pictures of the house,” Bell said. “The agent appraised the house based on what houses have sold for in the area during the past year.”

Bell has lived in his house at Kingfield Road for the past seven years and said he is uncertain about how long it would take to sell the house.

“The housing market isn’t that good right now in Trenton,” Bell said. “There are some houses up for sale now in the area that have been on the market for one year.”

Bell has collected unemployment benefits since he was laid off from his job with Adams Concrete during May 2009. He was collecting $469 per month in unemployment benefits before taxes until last week, when his benefits were cut to $317 per month.

After the benefits cut, Bill said he knew it was time to sell his house, where he lives with his 13-year-old son, Brian.

“I told him about selling the house,” Bell said. “He doesn’t want to move but understands why we have to move.”

Bell will continue this semester at Lenoir Community College. He wasn’t sure what he might do after he was laid off last year but soon discovered LCC’s Workforce Investment Act program through his friend Morris Mallard.

The WIA program gives displaced workers the opportunity to return to college for training on the state’s dollar.

Bell said he was considering transferring to Carteret Community College this fall because LCC doesn’t offer the radiography program he wants until 2011.

“If I move to New Bern, the commute will not be that much longer,” Bell said. “I plan to graduate with a degree in radiography in 2013.”

During the next several weeks, Bell said he plans to search for a part-time job in the area that is flexible with his college class schedule.

“My mother can’t totally support me,” Bell said. “I’m thinking about getting a job at Lowe’s.”

Bell said he has enjoyed living in the Trenton community because it offers him a break from the hectic pace of a large city living — but a move to New Bern is now likely a reality.

“I have about two acres here and my closest neighbor lives 100 yards from me,” Bell said.

He graduated from Jones Senior High School during 1987 and later joined the U.S. Navy for four years, serving on the USS Mount Whitney as an operation specialist.

Bell left the miltary in 1991 and began working in the construction business out of New Bern. He said he noticed business had dramatically slowed during summer 2008.

“I was working only about two days a week during late December 2008,” Bell said. “Adams had 23 workers then; now, the company has five workers.”

Bell said he would continue to manage his time, money and take care of his son during the recession.

“I am trying to not let my situation bother me,” Bell said. 

Gloria Miller of Kinston helps the unemployed

Gloria Miller of Kinston sees people everyday that are in the same situation she was in nearly three years ago.

Miller was laid off during November 2007 from her job at Unifi and decided soon after to go back to school. She enrolled in January 2008 at Lenoir Community College in the college’s office system technician program, where she graduated from in December.

“I had been in the manufacturing business for so long,” Miller said. “I didn’t really know at first what I was going to do.”

Miller currently works at LCC’s Job Link center helping job seekers prepare to take the Career Readiness Certificate test. At least five local employers — including DuPont, Caswell and Sanderson Farms — require job applicants to have a CRC to be considered for employment.

“Most employers now require the CRC,” Miller said.

Miller said she recently completed her certification to substitute teach for Lenoir County School, so if her hours at LCC are cut, she would have another alternative to earn a living.

The recession has forced Miller to trim her personal budget as well. Miller said she doesn’t eat out any longer, cooking all her meals at home instead.

“Whenever I go out, I make sure to do all of my errands at once so I don’t have to make another trip,” she said. “I don’t drive unless I have to.”

Miller said she was still searching for full-time employment while she works at LCC. Shesaid she didn’t let her age keep her from going forward with her plan; she graduated from Jones High School during 1969 at a school that was still segregated during her graduation year.

She moved to Kinston during 1968 but was allowed to finish her senior year at Jones. After her high school graduation, Miller later attended LCC, where she earned an associate degree in accounting in May 1979.

For 34 years, Miller worked at the DuPont and Unifi plant at N.C. 11. Miller said it was hard to leave a place where she had spent most of her adult life working.

“I’m just taking one day at a time,” Miller said. 

Marion Harris of Snow Hill retrains for workforce

Marion Harris of Snow Hill said he doesn’t feel like he is wasting his time as a student at Lenoir Community College this semester.

Harris, 46, had worked for DuPont at the N.C. 11 plant site from 1985 to 2004 and for Unifi from 2004 to 2007 until he was laid off from Unifi during November 2007. He decided to enroll at LCC after he didn’t have any success landing a full-time job.

“I didn’t think it would ever end,” said Harris, about his career with DuPont.

Harris plans to graduate from LCC during May 2011 from the college’s computer information technology and networking technology programs. He wants to continue to live in Greene County so he can be close to his mother.

“I will do my job search during my last semester at LCC,” Harris said. “I will check job listings on the Internet and network with people at the college to find a job out there that might not be advertised.”

Harris said he would like to work in computer forensics to help law enforcement agencies gather information about cyber-related crimes.

For now, Harris said he will continue to manage his personal finances during the economic recovery.

“I don’t have any disposable income,” Harris said. “I cut out going to the movies and eating out.”

Harris graduated from Greene Central High School during 1982, when the economy was also recovering from a recession. Harris said most of his high school classmates moved to major metropolitan areas, including Charlotte and Raleigh after graduation.

“They left for better job opportunities,” Harris said. “Some of them also joined the military to get out.”

Harris said he believes he will find employment in Eastern North Carolina next year and will continue to take 18 credit hours this semester at LCC and particpate in the college’s work-study program to build a better future for himself.

“I am getting older now,” Harris said. “I want to find a job that is satisfying for me.”

Chris Lavender can be reached at 252 - 559 - 1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com