Orthodontist in Harrisburg NC

HARRISBURG, N.C. — A Harrisburg football coach is pushing for answers and money after he said his team is out thousands of dollars following a last minute cancellation from a local bus company.

Jeffrey Sapp runs the 9U Harrisburg Cowboys football team. His staff decided it was time for the team to gain experience beyond the immediate area. Sapp was looking to give his team the "college experience" through football.

The team raised $2,600 for bus transportation through a charter bus company, "Semper Fi Tours".

As the team was getting set to depart, the company president texted Sapp an hour prior, canceling transportation.

"You try to do something special for the kids," Sapp said. "I know I couldn’t sleep if I knew I left 33 kids on the sidewalk.”

Sapp and the company's president have exchanged messages over the last month as Sapp is still demanding his full refund.

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“He didn't just rob us with money, he's robbed these kids out of a once in a lifetime experience, you know, they're probably never going to get to take a charter bus to play football game until they, you know, get way out or not this age, at least," Sapp added.

The president for the company texted the coach that they would receive their refund on Oct. 1. Sapp claims he never received it and after a couple of weeks, his team has only got $200 of the $2,600.

“You're talking about the fourth promise, already, a month," Sapp said. "So what do we believe? You know... we tried to handle this [as] civilly and quietly as possible... but the more we just hit a point where we're at, we're out of options.”

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WCNC Charlotte reached out to Semper Fi Tours on the issue. They sent a statement:

"We canceled the trip due to a bad storm. There were strong winds and a bad thunderstorm that day in Wilmington due to a hurricane. Kacy Walker, called Mr. Sapp and Kacy told him that he didn't see it fit to drive a bus full of children in those conditions. Mr. Sapp got mad about this and Kacy told him he was not about to risk those children's lives so at 12 PM he canceled the trip. Their trip was supposed to depart at 6:00 PM. In our contract it states we have the right to cancel trips if we don't see it fit to drive the motor coach. We have refunded Mr. Sapp a portion of his money and will still refund him the remaining of his balance by the end of the month."

Parents and family members stepped up and made the trip possible by packing up the cars and making the trip themselves. Sapp is fighting to make a statement for his team.

“We're willing to do whatever it takes to make it right by these boys and make sure you know, they get this money back," Sapp said. "Somebody can use it for them.”

According to the contract, the company promises a full refund if it has to cancel the trip.

HARRISBURG, N.C. (WBTV) - A local football coach contacted WBTV for help after he says his team is out thousands of dollars.

He says a charter bus company owes them that money after canceling on his team.

The Harrisburg Cowboys 9 and under football team chartered a bus to Wilmington through the company Semper Fi Tours in September.

“We’ve only lost one game in the last two years, so going into the season, we knew we had something special,” Harrisburg Football Commissioner Jeffrey Sapp, said.

Sapp says that’s why they chose to travel for a game in Wilmington on September 22nd.

“In order to get the kids some better competition outside of the city and see that different atmosphere traveling with the team,” he said.

He says the team raised $2,600 to charter a bus.

“We did a number of fundraisers pre-season,” he said. “The parents helped out, grandparents, team moms.”

When September 22nd came, Sapp says the company canceled on him, citing extreme weather at the coast.

“They were totally bummed, they were so looking forward to it,” parent Kendal Hicks told WBTV.

Parents stepped up and drove the kids themselves.

Sapp says the company has not fully refunded him, only paying him $200 to date.

The contract with Semper Fi Tours says “If WE cancel the trip, you get a FULL refund.”

It does not specify a timeframe for that refund.

We contacted Semper Fi Tours and the owner sent WBTV the following statement:

We cancelled the trip due to a bad storm. There were strong winds and a bad thunderstorm that day in Wilmington due to Hurricane Lee. I, Kacy Walker, called Mr. Sapp and I told him that I didn’t see it fit to drive a bus full of children in those conditions. Mr. Sapp got mad about this and I told him I was not about to risk those children’s lives so at 12 PM I cancelled the trip. Their trip was supposed to depart at 6:00 PM. In our contract it states we have the right to cancel trips if we don’t see it fit to drive the motor coach. We have refunded Mr. Sapp a portion of his money and will still refund him the remaining of his balance by the end of the month.

Sapp says he’s not confident that will happen, because the owner had already promised him a full refund by October 1st.

Semper Fi Tours LLC is based out of Lancaster, South Carolina.

According to the SC Department of Consumer Affairs, “there is not a timeframe for businesses to provide refunds like that unless it was written into the contract by the business themselves.”

WBTV also contacted the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and a spokesperson said “unless the contract states a refund timeframe, or the company has posted a refund policy, it has to be repaid in a reasonable amount of time under the circumstances.”

“It’s frustrating and that’s why we reached out, because we don’t want anyone to have to go through what we’ve had to go through,” Sapp said.

Sapp says he checked the Better Business Bureau website after this happened and noticed the company has an F rating.

WBTV will check back with the company to see whether they send that refund by the end of the month.

Copyright 2023 WBTV. All rights reserved.

Station 3 said it had to close twice in 48 hours due to a shortage of command staff.

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Harrisburg Fire Department Station 3 is back in service after representatives for the Cabarrus Professional Firefighters Association posted on social media staffing shortages forced them to close twice in 48 hours over a busy Fourth of July weekend.

In response, Harrisburg town manager, Rob Donham, told WCNC, they had an incident Saturday where one of their scheduled fire personnel scheduled had a last-minute medical issue.

"Our Deputy Fire Chief decided to switch staff around to other stations to accommodate their absence," Donham emailed. "Chief Dunn’s quote on Saturday was that he moved extra personnel to our other two stations because 'Over staffing 2 stations gives the Town better service in situations like this. Our multiple other stations, Cabarrus County EMS, and mutual aid agreements provide for excellent coverage in these rare circumstance where we have a sick or injured firefighter out with short notice. We do not expect any significant service difference when these situations occur.'”

Harrisburg is located between Concord and Charlotte, two of the state's biggest cities.

Representatives for Local 3393 said part of the problem is because of lateral hiring where people with some training and tenure are going elsewhere for a higher salary.

Anthony Evans, trustee of Professional Firefighters and Paramedics of North Carolina, was also a former president of the firefighters union which includes the Harrisburg Fire Department.

"They're trained, they're passionate -- they want to do the best for Harrisburg," Evans told WCNC Charlotte. "But when they don't have staffing and they don't have money for their employees, it makes it very hard to do their job. If you have three people instead of four, it changes the entire game."

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Evans and Jeff Tracey, district vice president for PFFPNC, said the town of Harrisburg is hiring but has employee retention issues, primarily because they're not paying enough.

They said starting base pay for a firefighter in Harrisburg is about $38,000 as of July 2023.

"Harrisburg did do a pay study," Evans said. "The pay study was still below the statewide standard."

Donham argued, the town confirmed with Evans at the time he was president of Local 3393, that the pay study was accurate.

"However, we both agreed that firefighter pay throughout the country isn’t commensurate with the hard work and dedication needed for the job," Donham said. "We have never heard back from the local fire union on any issues until this story ran which was a surprise to the town."

Down about a dozen people, or 30%, Tracey said that number is almost an entire shift's worth of staff not responding to emergency calls.

"Obviously, that's going to increase your response times -- an industry standard, we're looking at having the entire assignment of companies dispatched to a house fire on scene in eight minutes," Tracey said. "That's assuming that first company is going to be there in three or four minutes average once they get out the door. But if that company shut down, your next company is going to be six minutes away."

Donham acknowledged firefighter staff shortages, noting it is a challenge the fire service is seeing nationally.

The town manager said, "Harrisburg has certainly had to deal with that challenge the same as any other department. We are not down 30% though, we currently have a 54 person department and have 8 vacancies for fire fighters. We have 3 new recruits in training ready to start this fall which will fill 3 of the 8 vacancies. Although due to our growth we have added 3 more fire fighter positions in 2024, and are always actively recruiting people since we are one of the fastest growing towns in North Carolina."

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Tracey added the only reason why Station 3 was able to operate again on July 3 is because the battalion chief moved to the back of the station's truck.

"That's like taking your CEO to go sell groceries at Harris Teeter," Tracey said. "It was a step in the right direction but when you're down 30%, it's inevitable it's going to happen again. And we're going to tell the public every single time it's going on."

The town manager, Rob Donham, told WCNC the town of Harrisburg did not experience a break in calls for service while Station 3 was closed.

Anyone looking to work in the Harrisburg community should visit www.harrisburgnc.org and apply online.

A family in a Harrisburg community run by a homeowners association said the HOA sent violation letters selectively.

HARRISBURG, N.C. — Soon after the Aziz family moved to the Heatherstone community in Harrisburg in 2017, they discovered the backyard had drainage issues.

Adil Aziz applied for HOA approval and was approved to build a retaining wall and a fence.

"We found the source of the water. It was actually coming from our adjacent neighbor," Aziz said. "They had a 4-inch pipe that was directed to us and that's where the water was coming from. So we talked to the neighbors and it didn't go anywhere."

At the same time, Aziz became a board member of the HOA.

For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications."At the very first meeting, I was asking some questions about money. I thought it was mismanaged because we had to put some mulch. The cost was $12,000," Aziz said. "At the very next meeting, I was asked to step down as a board member."

In June 2018, a special community meeting was called to vote for his removal. Documents cited the Aziz family for failing to abide by the HOA's governing documents. Specifically, it said the Azizes property was not in compliance with the covenants. It also said that, although the board had approved an architectural request submitted by Aziz, the projects were not constructed according to the approval.

While homeowners voted to keep Aziz on as a board member, that didn't stop the violation letters from the HOA.

One violation was for building a retaining wall six inches taller than what the Azizes applied for, which was approximately 18 inches.

Another violation cited them for building a fence less than the required minimum of 12 feet from the curb.

Aziz told WCNC Charlotte that the HOA is not sending violation letters to other neighbors for violations of the same covenants.

"There's actually a neighbor who lives on the other street. He's in complete violation. His fence is only eight feet from the back of the curb. And they don't even bother with him," Aziz said.

The Azizes were also cited for a third violation, which claimed that they built a fence support without approval.

Adil Aziz said there's nothing in the covenants saying homeowners need to apply for a fence support separately.

Aziz said that in May 2018, the adjacent neighbors sent them a letter saying the fence support violated the declarations or original approval by the HOA.

READ MORE: Yes, the HOA can foreclose your home if the owner’s fees go unpaid

Aziz filed a complaint against the neighbors who in turn filed their own motions against the Azizes and the HOA.

The Azizes amended their complaint adding the HOA as another defendant, after which the HOA also filed a counterclaim.

"They called it a barrier but it's a fence support. It's holding our fence. They say we built it without approval. I said that's not true. We applied for the fence. We got approved to build a fence. He says we had to file separately for the fence support. Well, where in the covenants does it say we have to file separately for that? I mean, are we going to apply separately for a fence gate?"

In November 2021, Adil and Gladys Aziz represented themselves in a jury trial in a Cabarrus County courtroom.

Court documents show the family did not violate HOA covenants by constructing a retaining wall or a fence in the manner that they did.

However, the jury believed the Azizes did breach their obligation with concrete support.

"They want us to pay $4350 for not complying with the covenants," Aziz said.

The judge agreed and said the association was entitled to collect the fee.

The Azizes disagreed with the judge's decision since the couple asked for a declaratory judgment. They said, rather than judging the bylaws as a matter of law, the judge presented it to the jury as a matter of fact, a distinction they argue affected the outcome.

The Azizes have since recently filed a motion for reconsideration in the appellate court. They set up a gofundme to help with costs.

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WCNC reached out to the attorney for Heatherstone's HOA. In response, she wrote:

"The Association generally does not comment on ongoing litigation, out of respect for the legal process and to protect privilege. However, the Association does wish to make it absolutely clear that there is no merit to any claim of discrimination or selective enforcement by it. Heatherstone is a diverse community governed by covenants (rules and regulations) that apply to all homeowners equally. When the Azizes initially sued the Association and their neighbors they included a claim of selective enforcement. That claim was dismissed by the court. The current litigation has only continued because of the Azizes refusal to cure the violation on their property (which was affirmed by a jury) and because of their refusal to accept the outcome of a jury trial, and appeal, that they lost. This has led to the Association incurring substantial fees, all because of the Azizes' actions, and the board intends to pursue recovery for its membership consistent with the court's ruling. We are aware of the claims from the Azizes that the Association has refused to settle with them, as well. The fact is that the Azizes have demanded, and continue to demand, settlement on their terms alone. They have never conceded any obligation to pay back any portion of the fines assessed against them (and upheld by a jury of their peers) or any portion of the attorney fees the Association members collectively are entitled to recover from them under both the Declaration and North Carolina law. The Association contends that the Azizes have refused to engage in any reasonable settlement discussions, and until that happens, this case will continue to be litigated."

In a financial statement sent by the Azizes, Heatherstone's HOA spent almost $23,000 in legal fees in FY 2022 and approved another $25,000 for FY 2023.

HARRISBURG, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Town leaders in Harrisburg are addressing concerns about their fire department after one of their stations was forced to close on July 1 due to a staffing shortage.

Town Manager Rob Donham says when one firefighter from Station 3 called out sick and others were already out for surgeries or injuries, the town made the decision to move the remaining firefighters to Stations 1 and 2.

“That brought us down to a staffing level that the chiefs were uncomfortable with,” said Donham.

Local firefighter advocates have used the Station 3 closure as a prime example of the issues facing the public safety occupation.

“The public perception is, ‘Hey, the fires are getting put out, trucks are rolling down the road, everything’s good.’ Then, they go to Station 3 because your child or your husband is having a heart attack. You pull into the station, and you see, ‘Sorry, we’re closed today because we don’t have staffing’ on the front door,” said Jeff Tracey, District 1 Vice President of the Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association of North Carolina.

The Town of Harrisburg reports they currently have eight vacant firefighting positions out of their 54-person department. The shortage mostly stems from low pay and firefighters leaving smaller departments to work in bigger cities like Charlotte.

This time last year, Harrisburg paid their entry-level fire recruits $34,479 per year.

“They’re not going to be able to pay what Charlotte pays or what Raleigh pays or what Greensboro pays. We understand that. But they’ve still got to be somewhat competitive in the workforce,” said Tracey.

In September, the town adjusted its firefighter salaries following a pay study. In March, they upped their yearly salaries again after increasing the number of working hours from 2,756 to 2,912 per year. Now, they say the starting salary for a new firefighter with no experience is about $41,090, plus a $2,500 signing bonus.

“We’re trying to stay at the front of our local market. That’ll help us in the short term. But in the long term, if we want more people in public service, we need to pay them better. We need to treat them better,” said Donham.

Tracey said he and other members of the local firefighter’s union will be meeting with town leaders next week to discuss the issues facing Harrisburg first responders.