Moore- Cameron tension over planned protest fills parking lot

The video below shows Elizabeth Nhambure speaking up for community spirit.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sBvQD1tXm4hnYk8L8

At the June 24 Town of Cameron regular meeting, two sheriff deputies parked in front of Cypress Pointe Fire Department in Cameron on the grassy knoll and all the fire trucks were pulled out from their bays onto the paved lot and traffic cones warned drivers not to enter. Of the past six years in meeting at this location, this was a first.

A small side entrance down the far side of the fire department to the rear of the building allowed parking and the overflow parked in the grass on the winding road. This same winding road was addressed as a safety issue during the town meeting, the intersection of Red Hill Road and North Carolina Highway 24-27.

The town manager, Wendy Butner, said she had called the North Carolina Department of Transportation in the recent past and had not received a reply about how the state planned to reduce accidents at the Red Hill Road intersection.

Were the packed parking areas a coincidence or planned? One thing was clear, public safety was not a consideration.

A planned protest over the Town of Cameron’s fluctuating enforcements of the historical preservation of vintage dwellings was expected to attract 30 protestors, according to a lead protestor, Elizabeth Nhambure, owner of the 1878 Bed and Breakfast at the Historic Muse House in downtown Cameron which opened May 1, 2024.

The Town implemented rules on renovations, improvements, and repairs to property in the historical district with a Historic Preservation Ordinance Sept. 27, 2022.

During public comments, resident Lisa Pagels said Cameron needs to adapt or developments will take over.

Donavan Hamilton, co-owner of the Old Hardware Vintage Depot and Dewberry Café, said the issue stemmed from no oversight or accountability for the town clerk and town manager, Wendy Butner, and selective enforcement of the historical preservation ordinance.

Elizabeth Nhambure said Cameron needed to work with property owners like it does during festivals, like it did during rescue efforts (even though they failed) to save Miss Belle’s Antiques and Tea Room, and for park fundraising.

A resident of 27 years, Ted Pickard, said he had attended Town meetings for the last one and a half years and did not see a conflict.

“They don’t want a Dollar General,” Pickard said about keeping Cameron’s heritage and the Town being fair.

About five minutes after public comments, the mayor thanked the public speakers, most of whom were standing in the rear of the room, but they stayed until the end of the meeting.

Hamilton said he had every intention of seeing that Cameron implemented a change on historical preservation efforts.

June 24, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers