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By Ena Sellers, Duplin Journal
FAISON — The Faison Town Board approved a bid from Jones and Smith Contractors for the demolition of the old gym during their monthly meeting held in February. Jones and Smith Contractors were the lowest bidder out of the three companies vying for the project with a bid of $65,240.
“This is part three of the four-part project,” said Jimmy Tyndall, Faison executive administrator.
Among other highlights discussed during the meeting:
• Brian Bullard, scout master with Scout Troop 48 in Faison, thanked the town for the support provided to his troop with their projects. Troop 48 recently held an Eagle Court of Honor to celebrate eight young men who have attained their Eagle since October of 2023.
“I appreciated Commissioner Kennedy being there, along with members of the fire department, and wanted to thank you all,” said Bullard adding that he was thankful for Jimmy Tyndall’s ideas, and Matthew Scott’s support. “You’ve all, always been so encouraging and supportive of our young people when they come to speak to you to ask permission for our projects.”
Bullard shared that 75 years ago this year, the first Eagle Scout from Troop 48, Curtis Cates, earned his Eagle and he is proud to see that tradition continues. Bullard shared that all the young men did their projects in the town of Faison or for North Duplin.
Bullard told the Duplin Journal he was incredibly pleased with what the scouts are doing.
“They’ve already built a storage shed, a free food pantry in front of the fire department… Donation boxes here in town… picnic tables at the park,” said Bullard. “It really made a difference in the community, and it helped not only the visibility of scouting, but it also helped the young people be more connected.”
Candidate Cindy Sallis visited the Faison Town Hall and introduced herself to the board.
Sallis spoke about her professional background as a paralegal, in accounting, and her background in ministry working with prisoners’ kids.
“I’ve lived in southeastern North Carolina for 15 years, had my three sons here…,” said the retired gunnery sergeant spouse. “I have been highly involved in politics in Onslow County supporting candidates and elected officials that want to work for the people… It is neat to be amongst people that have a vision for the community, want to protect the community, [and] want to build the community. I am very involved in the Republican Party… This is my first run for an elected office.”
Sallis told the Duplin Journal she has been visiting some of the municipalities and meeting with law enforcement.
“I’ve been learning a ton, and it’s been great, because the county commissioners partner with the municipalities so that the whole county can build stronger, be safer, and economically thrive,” said Sallis. “I was blessed to sit down with Sheriff Stokes and the Warsaw chief, and I would like to sit down with more… It has been humbling to meet the community servants and the people that selflessly build the county. People in the town council meetings are going to see me again if I am elected, and that is not going to be in four years. I do plan to be a frequent flier, because it is about community building and helping people find resources with each other.”
Sallis shared that one of her goals is for the county to have a full-time grant writer.
“I know the Department of Health is doing a phenomenal job with grant writing also, but people shouldn’t be left on their own, and I think the county can step up even more when it comes to supporting them in that way, because grants are a very powerful resource,” said Sallis.
“There are huge pools of money that we often don’t tap into, and if you have someone dedicated to it, I do believe it would very easily cover the expense of the county to hire them…
I’m about serving the people, and I believe in a transparent government, a government that serves the people first. Our government should be an extension of who we are as a community, and it should serve us, so all decisions should benefit the community.”
Matthew Scott, Recreation director provided various updates.
“We’re going to have another blood drive at the gym on April 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.”
Scott added that they are actively pursuing grants and hope to put up lights at the sports complex. He also shared that Tri-County is donating poles.
Scott also spoke about issues they are having with the heat and air units, which are 15 years old. According to Scott, since he started working there, they have replaced one unit and have replaced the compressor in another unit, which extended the life of the unit.
“The compressor is just a band-aid for these,” said Scott. We have one of the units that has been worked on in the past that has gone out.”
According to Scott, the price for the new unit is going to be $15,590, approximately $3,000 more than what they paid for a new unit last year. Scott added that they have money in the budget and that he was informed that there was going to be a 30% increase in the cost of commercial equipment within the next 3-4 months. The Board spoke about budgeting one for next year and approved the purchase of one for this year.
The Parks and Rec director also provided updates for soccer and volleyball, adding that they had about 120 kids registered for soccer and about 80 girls for volleyball as of Feb. 7.
“We are coming out of an extremely strong basketball season and going into another 200-kid, sports season again,” said Scott. He also stated that a county official praised Faison for their kids’ programs and updated the board on upcoming events, such as the Farmers’ Day Parade which will be held on Feb. 23, and the town’s Easter Egg Hunt that will be held on March 30 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at 184 Park Cr.
“We’ll get the Easter Bunny out there and we’ll hide another couple thousand eggs,” said Scott.
He shared that Faison had a great basketball season with 31 teams playing basketball.
“A lot of good stuff is happening – we are really blessed,” said Scott. “Couldn’t do it without volunteers and the parents.”
Tyndall spoke about the new requirements for social media pages, explaining that it falls under the public records banner and as such is subject to public inspection upon request.
“I went through a lot of demos. At the end of the day, after getting our required bids, we chose to go with Page Freezer,” said Tyndall, adding that their cost will be $1,188 per year.
