Helen Mantila, M.D., says she has two passions in life: being a mother and being a physician.

“They’re both hard jobs, but the most rewarding ones I could imagine,” she says.

This mother of three joined FirstHealth of the Carolinas last year as a primary care physician in Richmond County. On July 8, she moved to the FirstHealth Family Care Center-Seven Lakes, joining a family medicine practice that also includes Dan Matthews, P.A.-C, and Amanda Martin, ANP.

Board certified in family medicine, Dr. Mantila earned her undergraduate degree from Purdue University in Indiana and her medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. She was elected chief resident during her residency at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) and later spent five years as a UCSD faculty member, caring for patients, mentoring resident doctors, and teaching medical student classes.

She takes pride in being a family doctor and having the privilege of providing health care to entire families.

“I truly enjoy providing health care to the entire family,” she says. “There is great value in a doctor knowing the whole family, and family medicine is unique in our training to be able to care for children, adults and seniors. The diversity of the care we provide in family medicine is extremely rewarding. I particularly enjoy practicing preventive care and participating in patient education.”

Dr. Mantila, her husband, and their children make their home in Seven Lakes.

“I love being a part of this community,” she says, “and I look forward to working with the families here on their health and wellness.”

The FirstHealth Family Care Center-Seven Lakes is located at 1035-C Seven Lakes Drive in Seven Lakes. All three providers are currently accepting new patients, and appointments can be made by calling (910) 673-0045.

The flooding that makes Butterfly Court in Seven Lakes West impassable during heavy rains is a perennial and long-unresolved problem. Over the years, among the most persistent and passionate advocates for Association action to correct the problem have been Priscilla Snee and her late husband Jerry.

The recent spate of storms brought flood waters to Butterfly Court, and Priscilla Snee to the microphone during the Public Comment segment of the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Tuesday, June 26 Board meeting.

But, before addressing the floods, Snee had something else on her mind: a perceived lack of respect paid by the Association to families mourning the loss of a loved one.

[Clarification: Seven Lakes West Landowners Association Events Director Rosemary Weber expressed concern that this report on the Tuesday, June 26 Board meeting may have created the impression that CAS, Inc. staff are currently involved in the planning and execution of Community Events. Weber told The Times that "CAS has not orchestrated any of the Events for Seven Lakes West -- and will not, until next year, when the Events Director's position will be eliminated, along with the Safety and Security Director position, reducing the Board to seven Directors."]

Responsibility for Safety & Security, as well as Events, will pass from the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Board of Directors to the Association’s management company, CAS, Inc. when the terms of current Directors Ed Cockman and Rosemary Weber expire next March.

The Directors had voted earlier in the year to downsize the Board from nine to seven members, a recommendation made by last year’s Nominating Committee. They voted during their Tuesday, June 25 meeting to reassign the functions that Cockman and Weber had been handling.

After the meeting, SLWLA President Stevens told The Times that it was difficult to find nine board members who are willing to volunteer.

“We went from nine to seven because it is more typical,” he added. “All of the associations that CAS represents have boards with seven members. Plus, the Board, over time, is trying to come up with a plan to make volunteering as a Board Member to be more enticing. It’s a better plan get people to volunteer.”

The NC Department of Transportation [NCDOT] has released a drawing of its plan for a new gated railroad crossing at the main intersection in Seven Lakes, where Seven Lakes Drive and Lakeway Drive meet NC Highway 211. Download the plan here.

When a train is approaching, traffic entering Seven Lakes West will be stopped by 30 foot gate, with four two-light assemblies affixed to its mounting structure.

Traffic using one of the two exit lanes from Seven Lakes West will encounter a slightly longer gate, as well as signal lights mounted on a cantilever that extends across both exit lanes of Lakeway Drive. The illustration at right shows a typical railroad crossing cantilever.

Traffic lights at the intersection will be interconnected with the crossing signals (the technical term is “pre-emption”), so that traffic headed for Seven Lakes West will be stopped when a train has the crossing closed.

NCDOT Engineer Nancy Horne told The Times that the Department’s signal group has completed its plan for the traffic signal pre-emption, and the crossing plan has been submitted to the Aberdeen, Carolina, & Western Railway [ACWR], which will design the signal circuitry and, eventually, handle signal construction.

Once a cost estimate from ACWR is in hand and approved by NCDOT, construction can begin.

Horne said that is still several months off, “but we are a lot further along than we were.”

Excessive speed was the cause of a single vehicle accident on Longleaf Drive in Seven Lakes West Saturday night, June 22, that claimed the life of 48-year-old Earnest Ray Barber of Pinebluff.

That's the conclusion reached by NC Highway Patrol Trooper K.R. Burroughs, who told The Times on Monday that he estimates Barber's vehicle was traveling at nearly 70 miles per hour when it crossed the center line and slammed into a tree around 11:00 pm. The accident occurred between the two ponds on the outside of Longleaf, west of Lakeway Drive, near Patman Court.

Burroughs said Barber was traveling east on Longleaf, and his high rate of speed was observed by witnesses in two other vehicles heading west on Longleaf.

Barber was driving a full-sized Dodge pickup, with 25-year-old Bryan Scarlett, of Jackson Springs, in the passenger seat. Scarlett was transported to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. On Monday, the hospital reported Scarlett in good condition.

In addition to the Highway Patrol, first responders called to the scene included Moore County EMS, Seven Lakes EMS, Seven Lakes Volunteer Fire Department, and West End Fire and Rescue.

The accident, rescue efforts, and investigation stopped traffic on Longleaf for about two and one-half hours, Ed Cockman, Safety and Security Director of the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association, told The Times. The Association opened the road across Lake Auman Dam to facilitate the flow of traffic to and from the neighborhoods west of the dam.