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Abby Cavenaugh

DA releases toxicology results on officer-involved shooting case 

Lanier’s autopsy results show presence of marijuana, PCP 

WALLACE – The Office of District Attorney Ernie Lee issued a press release with the toxicology results for the James Lanier officer-involved shooting case on Jan. 8. 

Lanier, 36, of Rose Hill was shot and killed by an officer with the Wallace Police Department on Feb. 24, 2023, in the parking lot of the Express Mini Mart in Wallace. 

According to the DA’s press release, Lanier’s postmortem toxicology analysis showed elevated levels of THC and Phencyclidine, a street drug called angel dust or PCP. 

“These results help us understand Lanier’s behavior on February 24, 2023,” wrote Wallace Police Chief Jimmy Crayton in a media release about the findings, explaining that “angel dust is a well-known hallucinogenic that results in a sense of euphoria and omnipotence and gives the user what appears to be superhuman strength.” 

According to law enforcement, body cam footage and video retrieved from local surveillance cameras presented as evidence, showed Lanier nearly naked “shoving and punching the officer” and “attempting to take the officer’s firearm.”

“The officer deployed his Electronic Control Device (Taser), but even though contact was made with Lanier, the Taser was ineffective. After retreating nearly one hundred feet, trying to escape the attack, and after Lanier tried to take the officer’s handgun, the officer discharged his weapon, fatally wounding Lanier. Combined with Lanier’s violent and erratic behavior, the ineffective Taser deployment led us to suspect that a controlled substance impaired Lanier’s mental and physical faculties.” 

After reviewing all the evidence in the investigation, Lee held a press conference on May 19, 2023, to release his findings and determined that Lanier’s death, while tragic, was justified because his actions caused the officer to believe it necessary to protect his life. 

“The toxicology results shed light on an additional bad choice made by Lanier. Lanier chose to ingest PCP. Lanier chose to attack a police officer,” wrote Chief Crayton, emphasizing the poor choice of attacking an officer whose presence was meant to control an escalating act of violence. “These choices are what led to Lanier’s death. Lanier’s spontaneous and continued violent assault on the officer, including his trying to take the officer’s weapon, gave the officer no other choice but to discharge his firearm.”   

“This incident has caused a great deal of trauma to Lanier’s family, the officer involved in the shooting, and our community,” wrote Chief Crayton, concluding that he hopes “this final piece of evidence resolves those with lingering questions.” 

Military roots run deep for combat veteran Ben Parrish – part two

Military roots run deep for combat veteran Ben Parrish – part two

Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series. Part one published on Dec. 20, 2023.

ROSE HILL –Located just a few miles from the county seat is the Sheriff’s Office Training Center. As Ben Parrish would say, “this is where all the magic happens.”

Each time a new officer is hired, the training center is their first stop.

“We have roughly 75 officers within the agency, at one point or another I’ve had all of them out here,” said Parrish.

The training facility is a true example of the kind of support that exists in the community and the collaborative efforts between government and businesses who year after year, champion for the people in Duplin County.

According to Parrish, in 2014, when he became the training coordinator, the property that serves now as the training center was being used as a clay pit for compost for the landfill.

“We approached Smithfield Foods Engineering Department,” said Parrish, explaining they asked for any help the company would be willing to provide for the construction of the range.

“Six weeks later, the ranges were finished, the berms and everything. That was their give back to the community,” said Parrish explaining that at the very beginning they had not even thought about a classroom, but as things progressed they were able to get a great deal for the construction of a shell building and the concrete. “We were able to utilize our county maintenance department to come in and cut all the panels. Inmate labor hung it. We used inmate labor to finish it up, they painted it and everything and we saved the county about $900,000,” said Parrish. “All total once it was completed with air conditioning, water, power, the whole nine yards, we got it for roughly $80,000 for the whole facility, so we are very, very proud of it.”

Agencies like the U.S. Marshals, NCIS react team, retired FBI LEOSA, Highway Patrol, SBI, DMV are just a few of the agencies that have conducted training at the facility.

“We’ve had Marine Special Operations Command out here doing their Raven exercise, which is their final training exercise before they deploy to a theater of operation. We have had the 3rd Special Forces Training Division from their transportation section come out and conduct training for us. We had the Robin Sage program from the U.S. Army Special Forces training section… You name it,” Parrish explained, adding that they don’t charge law enforcement or military agencies for access to the facility.

For Parrish, training has always been a passion.

“I wouldn’t change anything about my career,” said Parrish.

The training facility has two ranges which can accommodate up to 25 shooters going at one time. The ranges use a pipe system so when the rain comes off the berm it ends up down in an 8-inch tile in front of the targets. “It’s a closed tile, so we’re not allowing any lead to get into the water system,” said Parrish.

“We try to be very, very studious with the environment around us, making sure that it has kept clean. We’ve had a company come out of Florida to test the berm for lead and they said we’re good for about 25 years.”

The training center sits on an 11-acre property. Here they store military equipment acquired through the Law Enforcement Support Services Office (LESSO).

“We got these Humvees through the LESSO program for free… We got boats… we have generators, tents. You name it,” said Parrish as he explained how the diverse types of equipment enables them to conduct scenario-based training, aiding them in providing better services for Duplin residents.

They have four boats each capable of transporting 10 individuals. “We are in a team of swiftwater trained officers that are trained to go out and rescue individuals in a high-water situation.”

They also have ATVs obtained through the LESSO program, which enable them to do ground search and rescue. “We’ve tried to think of every eventuality and incorporate it into the services that we’re able to provide.”

Parrish added that they do all their maintenance inhouse except for electrical, and “it is all facilitated through donation or transfer or agencies like the U.S. Marshals purchasing our backers for the range targets.

“They purchase 50 targets or backers every two years. We can get anywhere from 35,000 to 40,000 rounds of use out of each backer, so it saves not only in cost, but it also saves the environment because we are not using cardboard, we can sit there and use these foam backers until they disintegrate and then they can be repurposed,” said Parrish.

“We’ve acquired $6.2 million worth of equipment — all free. The Humvees when they have outlived their life cycle with us, we turn them in, and we get another one or whatever the latest model is replacing that. The only caveat to it is we have to go and pick it up wherever it is located in the system,” said Parrish.

“We’ve picked up a couple of our Humvees from Fort Jackson in South Carolina, we have got some generators that we picked up from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The Conex’s we have gotten at Camp Lejeune.”

“We try and prepare for any eventuality that comes up,” said Parrish, explaining they train with the EMS department on active shooter scenarios. “We’ve incorporated them into our training so that we know what they need to do during a certain situation. The last call out that we had was on Blue Newkirk Road (about two months ago) and it was a nine-and-a-half-hour standoff with a barricaded individual… We hope and pray that every incident like that ends peacefully… We were able to get the individual out safely and get him the help that he needs.”

Parrish shared that mental health has been a huge problem, especially when dealing with involuntary commitments.

“That affects our agency because if we have to sit there and transport an individual to Ahoskie, or the western part of the state near Winston, Salem that takes that deputy out of the community where he’s assigned to protect and that may delay a response to somebody’s house that’s being broken into, or somebody being assaulted or something like that,” said Parrish.

The combat veteran explained that is one of the biggest reasons for needing more officers and trying to prevent turnover. This year alone he had about six officers that came through the training and left for varied reasons, a couple went to work for the Highway Patrol. “It definitely impacts us… training and equipping that officer is an expensive cost to the agency and then if that officer doesn’t stay but six to eight months and then moves to another agency, we basically trained somebody else’s officer,” said Parrish.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, it costs between $15,000 to $20,000 from the time an officer turns in an application, goes through the background investigation, polygraph, psychological background, and the 12-week program with their field training officer, plus an additional $2,000-$4,000 for equipment and uniforms.

“This year alone this office responded to over 22,000 calls for service, and that’s going through our 911 center.” According to Parrish the number of calls for service has increased significantly from last year.

“That’s anywhere from four to five officers on the road at any given time that have to go from one end of the county to the other,” said Parrish explaining that for a county of 819-square miles the response time could be anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes of travel time.

When asked what he thinks might be the reason for so much turnover, Parrish answered Pay.

“The salary is just not enough to support their families … it is just It is disheartening what they have to live off. I am in a different situation in that I have veteran’s compensation for my injuries that I sustained in combat, so that helps me out a little, but not everybody is in that situation,” said Parrish, adding that agencies neighboring Duplin “have increase their salaries and so forth and naturally, somebody wanting to provide for their family, they’re going to go where they can make the most dollars.”

Parrish also serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Calypso Volunteer Fire Department and is a Mason in the Kenansville lodge, Saint John’s number 13.

Duplin employees plead for new jail

Duplin employees plead for new jail

Overcrowding, safety a dire concern at Duplin County Detention Center

By Ena Sellers, Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE — The need for a new detention center to replace the deteriorating and severely overcrowded Duplin County Jail is a dire concern for Sheriff Stratton Stokes. The sentiment is shared not only among staff and local law enforcement but also by other community members who are worried for the safety of the workers and inmates. On Dec. 15, the Duplin Journal visited the facility.
The pace was busy as guards moved in and out through the narrow hallways of the blue-wall interior. The sound of metal gates echoed throughout the tight space as a guard brought a male to a holding cell about the size of a bathroom. The cell was already occupied by three other inmates who had been sleeping there due to overcrowding. People sleeping on the floor throughout the jail’s different areas was a common sight.
Right now, the jail is housing 22 inmates in other counties, and they are still over the 96-limit with 110 inmates at the facility. According to Sheriff Stokes, between 15 and 30 inmates are housed off-site at any given time, with most being males, costing taxpayers $60 per day per person. The cost goes up to $100 a day if a female inmate needs housing. Last month, the Sheriff’s Office had to request an additional $300,000 from the county, as they had exhausted the budgeted $200,000 within the first six months of the fiscal year.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Inside the jail, the employees responsible for caring for the inmates face many challenges trying to keep things running and juggling accommodations for a flow of inmates that does not slow down, whether there is space or not.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 15 of last year, 1,839 persons were brought to the jail, serving a cumulative time of 42,930 days as they waited for their sentence.
For First Sergeant Erica Williams, who has been with Duplin County law enforcement for 10 years, making the move from working courts to the jail gave her a new perspective of what it is like working inside the facility.
“Coming from the courts, you come over here, you drop them off — you leave. (Jailers) are having to deal with (inmates) all day long and all night and that really opened my eyes to how dangerous it is. You pop that door, and anything can happen. They’d be sweet one minute, and the next minute, they can rush that door,” said Williams.
Lt. Denise Mitchell, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office Detention Center Division for the last 25 years, told the Duplin Journal that the jail gets so overcrowded it is unsafe for the employees.
“Every day, you’re taking a chance when you come in these doors,” said Mitchell. “You get all kinds of attitudes from back there and sometimes up here. It’s like you are fighting a no-winning battle in a sense because, you know, the courts bring them, probation brings them, deputies bring them, troopers bring them, and you have no room to put these people … and then you’ve got to send your workers back there to deal with them. They’re everywhere… they are laid out everywhere, and you’ve got nowhere to put them, and then you call other counties to try to get them moved, and they are fighting the same thing we are fighting, so sometimes they can’t even take them, and so, here we is — back again,” Mitchell said.
As we moved through the facility, the restless cries of a woman afflicted with mental health reverberated through the walls. She has been arrested and committed to the hospital multiple times.
Housed in a segregation cell on the male side of the facility, this woman is waiting to be evaluated at Cherry Hospital before her case can proceed in the court system. Due to backlogs at the psychiatric hospital, the woman could be looking at a year-long wait.
The jail has no single cells for females, making it a challenge when there is a need to keep them separate. While every attempt is made to house overflowing inmates in other jails, when it comes to those who are violent, suffering from mental health, or having medical issues, it is challenging to find placement due to the liability associated with it. Sheriff Stokes explained that depending on the inmate’s charges, “if their bond is too high — (other jails) won’t take them.”
The need is so dire at times that personnel resort to using meeting, visitation, and fingerprinting areas to hold inmates. While these small rooms can help in a pinch, officers on shift must regularly take those inmates out to provide access to a restroom.
The chronic overcrowding situation bleeds into other areas of dysfunction, like people getting unsecured bonds or criminal summons instead of warrants, as stated by the sheriff at the July 17, 2023, county commissioners meeting.
According to the Sheriff, they currently have one transport officer who averages 2,000 miles a week. The officer transports prisoners daily due to writs, involuntary commitments, and housing inmates out of the county. “He alone cannot handle all the transports, so we utilize other divisions to assist,” said Sheriff Stokes.
The jail staff is tired and overworked, pulling 12-hour shifts a day, many times going without a day off due to staffing shortages. That means that for the next 12 hours, two or three jailers must make rounds, feed 110 inmates, do meds, take sick calls, and do court. “It can get really crazy… admin courts calling constantly,” said Williams.
“It gets frustrating, you know, you are overworked, and then you got to come in and deal with overcrowding, and people with attitudes… Some people have worked all week,” said Mitchell, explaining that sometimes they go without a day off because they are understaffed. “We work on shift too, to fill in; that takes away from stuff that we need to do, but I’m not going to leave my people hanging.”
However, law enforcement is not the only one concerned about overcrowding and safety at the Duplin County Jail; Raymond Campbell, a Duplin County Crime Stoppers Board member, is among other concerned citizens hoping something gets done to prevent a potential tragedy.
“If something happens in that 40-men cell — and they will call other people in if it is bad enough,” said Campbell. “But you know how quick somebody can get hurt? Not just the inmate, an officer, or anybody — Quick.”
Bill Wolak, a Beulaville attorney and member of the DCCC board, is another resident with concerns about the jail.
“The biggest problem is going to be if the Department of Justice steps in; I am talking about the United States Department of Justice, their civil rights division. If they step in, they will mandate that the county build a jail, period. They’ll get a federal court order, and that’s the end of the conversation for the commissioners,” said Wolak. “…and at that point, there’s no more local discussion as to where you are going to get the money — you are going to get the money, or they are going to fine the county X number of dollars per day for every day that they don’t start. That is looming…”
For the past 27 years, local law enforcement, state representatives, and members of local government have advocated for a new jail to replace the current facility, which was built in 1978 and retrofitted in 1996. Jail studies were conducted in 2005, 2008, and 2019 to mitigate a situation that continues to pose a problem.
From structural to maintenance issues, the list of repairs needed continues to grow, now with an analog camera system experiencing problems. Due to ongoing repairs, exposed plumbing can be seen with missing panels off the walls on the older side of the jail.
The prisoners’ only connection to the outside world is an app like FaceTime, which has been used for visitation since the pandemic. Due to overcrowding, the jail does not offer in-person visitation, with very few exceptions.
Tall brick walls in a patio roughly the length of a school bus provide inmates the rare opportunity to get sunlight if the weather allows.
Aside from escorted visits to the courthouse or the doctor, inmates remain in their cells, day in and day out. While each is assigned a tablet with books, movies, and access to educational programs, “if you are there 24-hours a day, seven days a week, you’ll get bored,” Mitchell explained.
Safety has been a big concern due to overcrowding, now with inmates tearing stuff apart and making shanks out of any metal they manage to find in their environment. In 2023, the staff confiscated more than 15 shanks. They also had to stop a work crew that used to help at the landfill.
“I went ahead and stopped that altogether because I think they were bringing stuff in,” said Sheriff Stokes, adding that he had the staff fitted for stab-proof vests last month. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure everybody’s protected.”
Mitchell shared that she wishes the County Commissioners would visit the jail.
“In the past, we have invited the commissioners to come over here and just see what we do. I mean, spend a day with us to see what we go through,” said Mitchell, adding that a couple have visited in the past, but she would like to see all of them visit as a group. “If they would come over and see what goes on day to day, they would not believe it. They just would not believe it.”
Sheriff Stokes expressed that a three-pod facility with a capacity of 236 beds would provide sufficient beds to house males and females in separate wings as required by law and provide the safety and functionality needed to operate.
According to the sheriff’s presentation at the July 2023 commissioners meeting, a two-pod facility with 156 beds would not resolve the overcrowding problem; with 78 beds allocated for males and 78 for females, the male wing would be overcrowded from the start.
As we concluded the Duplin Journal’s visit to the jail, we asked Mitchell for a few closing words — something she would like to say.
“For the safety of the people… we need another jail… I know it is not like a school and we don’t want them to have the Hilton…. “It is for the workers’ safety (and) the public’s safety… You don’t have room to put these people.”
The bid deadline for the construction of a two-pod jail with an option to a third pod is Jan. 16. According to County Manager Bryan Miller, at that point the County Commissioners will have the cost estimates needed to decide how they wish to move forward.

2024: the year ahead

2024: the year ahead

County management shares a glimpse into what’s coming up this year   

By Ena Sellers, Duplin Journal

KENANSVILLE – As 2024 rolls in, Duplin County is setting gears in motion preparing for growth. Carrie Shields, County assistant manager shared that a key focus for the county in 2024 will be infrastructure.

“We really need to look at water and sewer infrastructures within our municipalities to make sure that we are prepared for current and future growth. The Town of Kenansville especially, that is where the growth is happening for government facilities,” said Shields, adding that Kenansville was awarded $8 million from the state to improve their sewer infrastructure.

“We will lock arms and partner with the Town of Kenansville and make sure that we’re all in lockstep to bring that to fruition,” she added.

Shields shared that they also plan to focus on helping drive growth in other municipalities within the county. “Right now, for Duplin County, the Town of Wallace and the Town of Beulaville are the only towns that have available sewer capacity. So, we need to make sure that they continue to stay ahead of it,” she said, explaining the importance of it for a town’s growth.

The Duplin Commons is seeing a lot of activity with crews working diligently on facilities that are scheduled to open this year. According to County Manager Bryan Miller, paving of the parking lot for the new Transportation Department will begin soon and they hope to have a certificate of occupancy within the next month and a half.

Miller also shared that the Animal Care Control and Adoption Facility is waiting on one more electrical panel.

“We’re starting to see some movement and some parts coming in,” said Miller, adding that he is cautiously optimistic that they will get the other panel delivered within the next month or so. “We are going to see some movement on that fairly quickly… The contractors are having to cover the insurance and all the costs of the building until we get the certificate of occupancy for both buildings, so they want to get these things done just as quickly as we do.”

The Veteran Services and Senior Center building is on target for completion in December 2024.

“Daniels and Daniels are doing a terrific job with that… They built up the foundation to where it needs to be, soil compaction looks good. We look for an on-time completion,” said Miller. “Our seniors and veterans really have something to look forward to.”

Miller also shared that the county is working with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and a few jurisdictions including Teachey, Wallace and Warsaw on wastewater projects to help residents with wastewater solutions.

Employment

According to Shields the main employment focus for 2024 is to fill vacant positions in the Sheriff’s Office and Duplin County Schools.

“We’re about 23-24 deputies short with jailers total, and that’s about 20-25% of our workforce, so it definitely has an impact on how well we operate and the response times,” Sheriff Stratton Stokes told the Duplin Journal.

“There’s always been turnover, but it’s two-fold,” he said, explaining that the current climate with the police force in the U.S. caused a lot of retirements, in addition to the pandemic which pushed a lot of people to retire early.

“The job market is very, very tight in every sector, but in order to find qualified candidates who can be police officers and can serve the county and state, we’ll have to pay them better.” The Sheriff shared that they are competing with neighboring counties where some people are getting 20% more in pay. “Crime is always going to be there. We need to pay our deputies a good salary where they can survive.”

Duplin County Schools has 16 teacher vacancies as of Dec. 18, 2023.

When the Duplin Journal asked Miller if there was a plan in place to retain employees in 2024, Miller shared that they have some thoughts on how the county might be able to retain some employees. “But those things will come up at budget time and they’ll be discussed with the board of commissioners,” Miller explained. “We’ll try to figure out some concrete ways to keep some of these employees, but it is hard competing with these larger jurisdictions that have a larger tax base… They can afford to pay higher salaries.”

Miller added that for many employees, Duplin County is home. “So, we want to keep those people in Duplin County, they have already shown a tremendous amount of loyalty to the county, working jobs where they could go to a neighboring county and make five to ten thousand dollars more a year. We need to be grateful for that and we need to show our appreciation to them, and we plan to do that,” said Miller.

When asked if salary increases will be considered more seriously this year. Miller said they are going to “make recommendations to the board of commissioners, but with every recommendation comes a price tag… and that is tough. The board of commissioners is in a tough position. They’ve got to look out for the residents and the employees, at the same time for the business community… They’ve got a lot of hats to wear. It is not as easy as you might think. We need to make sure that we identify revenues that can pay for these recurring expenses,” said Miller.

TOURISM

Miller shared that he is excited to have Shields as assistant county manager. “She is incredibly great,” said Miller, adding that Shields is “overseeing non-traditional government services” to help department heads in aspects related to tourism at the Events Center, and Cabin Lake among others.

“She has such a wonderful strategic vision,” said Miller as he spoke about Shield’s leadership and foresight. “I am incredibly excited about that.”

Shields told the Duplin Journal that they are looking to do more concerts and events for the community.

“We’re trying to focus on what the community is telling us that they want and what we see is working.” Shields shared that they want to make concerts an ongoing thing. Currently there are plans for a big concert coming to Duplin in the spring. “We’re looking at April for that concert.” While the name of the artist cannot be disclosed yet, Shields said it will be a big-name artist.

Shields encourages the public to be on the lookout for upcoming events at Cabin Lake.

“Jordan Whaley has done a fantastic job … making it a true tourist attraction,” said Shields.

Mt. Olive Pickle Drop makes New Year’s a big dill

Mt. Olive Pickle Drop makes New Year’s a big dill

What started out as a small gathering of Mt. Olive Pickle employees has grown into an annual New Year’s Eve event that draws thousands and was even named one of USA Today’s 10 Best New Year’s Eve Drops in the U.S.

This year’s event was staged in front of the University of Mount Olive’s Kornegay Arena, with a ladder truck from the Mount Olive Fire Department hoisting a giant lighted pickle among the tree tops. At 7 p.m., which is midnight GMT, the pickle is dropped into a waiting jar and fireworks immediately light up the sky behind the arena.

The whole event is finished by 7:30 p.m., and features live music, free pickles, food trucks, and door prizes for those who bring a donation for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Duplin County Mayors answer “What is the most significant thing happening in your town in 2024?”

Duplin County Mayors answer “What is the most significant thing happening in your town in 2024?”

Duplin County’s municipalities have faced their fair share of ups and downs in 2023, with many towns seeing unprecedented growth, while others have welcomed new leadership. The Duplin Journal asked the town’s 10 mayors what they see as the most significant thing happening in their town in the coming year. Below are their responses. 

The items facing the town of Beulaville in 2024 are: managing growth, infrastructure needs, and overall balance. We’ve had a great deal of success following Covid, qualifying for a number of grants. In 2024, we will see massive parks and recreation improvements, and a number of water and sewer projects. It’s important to remain focused and balanced in value to community and not outpace our needs with our wants. Our priority next year will be to continue to make the town and community of Beulaville solvent, relevant and a value to the county and eastern N.C. 

—Hutch Jones, Beulaville 

We’ve got a CDBG grant and we’re going to be doing some houses, about five or six houses in town. We’ll be building new ones for the ones that are in the worst shape. Since we got the grant to update several houses, that’s what we’re going to be focusing on. We’ve also got a dam situation with the beavers in town. We’re working on that, too. We’ve got to drain it but we have to wait until a certain time of year so we can be better able to control it. We’re working with BRIC as well. That’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Community. We’re still waiting on some information from the state before we get started with that. As a whole, all these things are ways we’re trying to do to build up the community and make our town a better place. 

—JoAnn Wilson, Calypso 

The most significant thing that will happen in Faison in 2024 is the unveiling of the Dr. William Thornton 6-foot-tall black granite memorial and courtyard where the “old Faison gym” sits now. Dr. Thornton was born and raised in Faison, and became the first NASA Astronaut from North Carolina.  Dr. Thornton is also buried in the Faison Cemetery.

—Billy Ward, Faison 

The town of Greenevers’ top priorities for 2024 are to fortify our water infrastructure, address stormwater issues, and improve the financial operation of the town.  These long-term ongoing objectives will be achieved by completing several of the following tasks. The town currently will be moving forward with contractors with the bid and design of several water infrastructure projects (water line extensions, improvements to the elevated water tower and pump houses, installation of well generators, and meter project). Additionally, the town is presently working with an engineering firm to complete an Asset Inventory and Assessment study on the water and sewer systems to better assess the current condition of the infrastructure of both systems.  All these projects will help to ensure the continuality of the water system.    

To address the stormwater issue on several town-owned roads, the town is currently considering completing a project to clean out and install necessary ditches in these needed areas. This project is expected to be bid out and completed in 2024.

The town has currently partnered with N.C. League of Municipalities and Black Mountain Software to obtain updated financial and utility billing software. This new upgrade will help the town to implement the best accounting practices, provide monthly oversight, improve year-end preparedness, and other needed accounting assistance.  

—Diane Brown, Greenevers 

I see getting our departments back fully staffed and utilizing the grants we have received to improve our water and sewer infrastructure and the Kenan Park playground as top priorities in addition to the normal day-to-day operations of our town.

—Stephen Williamson, Kenansville 

The most significant thing happening for Magnolia in 2024 is the completion of the recreation master plan. The plan will lay the vision and groundwork for developing four acres of the town’s property. It will service the diverse population we have in Magnolia and improve quality of life.

The first phase is the renovation of the gym, for which we already have $548,000 to complete. The gym will eventually become a multipurpose facility where classes, meetings, etc., can be held, in addition to recreation activities.

The second phase will, hopefully, be a PARTF grant matching the current grant we have, and then applying for other grants.

The intention is to create activities for residents, both current and future, to include youth, seniors, and all ages in between.

—Dawn Ward, Magnolia 

A lot of things are happening in Rose Hill. One of the biggest things is our infrastructure. We have gotten grants and applied for grants to pave our streets and we’re working on that right now. The fire department being built is also one of the biggest things going on. There have been delays, so they’ve been working on that for about a year and a half now. It’s finally coming together, and I think they’ll probably be having a dedication after the first of the year. That’s a wonderful thing for the town, to have a new fire department. I drive past it every day. 

—Davy Buckner, Rose Hill 

I don’t think there’s any huge projects on the horizon, outside of there’s a subdivision that River Landing developers want to build on 117, going toward Bill Carone. I think it’s about a quarter mile or so before that, as you’re going into Wallace. That’s the biggest thing on the horizon that we have going on in town. I heard that they’re expecting to build between 200 and 300 homes in that area. That’s going to be a pretty big deal, because it’s definitely going to double the homes in the area, but it’s going to magnify the people and the residents here exponentially. We want to make sure that we’re doing things the right way, that they’re building things the right way, and all that kind of stuff. 

In my opinion, I think it’s a good thing for Teachey. We want to grow. Obviously, growth and change are inevitable. I think once you stop growth and change, things deteriorate. Like the Word says, without a vision, the people perish. I see Teachey more now as residential. I guess you can call it a residential suburb of Wallace, on a very small scale, compared to cities. I see Teachey as being that, because Wallace is growing so much commercially. 

—Bobby Jones, Teachey 

The most significant events in 2024 all center around growth. We have a request for the largest annexation to our town in Pender County with a project that will bring approximately 600-plus homes over the next several years. We also will see similar projects off of Highway 41 and Highway 11 in town, and will lay the infrastructure for development. The addition of new businesses in the Tin City area will be scheduled to open in 2024 as well. All of this will catapult growth in our area over the next three to five years.

—Jason Wells, Wallace 

The town of Warsaw is looking for financial aid to help increase the town waste treatment facility. We are also heading into the town budget workshops for 2024-2025 fiscal year. We would like to see a increase in activities at the town’s Recreation Department. I feel there is so much more for our young people than just basketball and football that should be caring out at the Recreation Center. I would love to see a strong support for our Boys and Girls Scouts in our community. We are seeking a full scale dining restaurant with full service. We are enjoying the facts that new homes are being built in the town of Warsaw. As the Mayor I am praying for a great positive increase in Warsaw in 2024.

—A.J. Connors, Warsaw 

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