Abby Cavenaugh

WALLACE — Folks in the Wallace area have a new way to properly dispose of American flags, thanks to local Eagle Scout Jase Blanchard.

Jase, who’s been part of Troop 35 for 12 years and lives in Rose Hill, said he built the box for his Eagle Scout project because he saw a need in the community.

“The US flag can only be disposed of by burning,” he explained. “The VFW does that for free at the American Legion in Wallace, but if the building isn’t open, a lot of people would just leave flags on the front bench or outside the door, so I thought a box would be a better, more convenient way.”

Throughout his scouting career, Jase said he’s taken part in a lot of flag retirement ceremonies, so he immediately thought of doing the box when it came time for his Eagle Scout project.

When his mother, Shannon Barber, was on vacation, she happened to see a flag retirement box, and thus, the idea was born.

There’s no right or wrong way to build a flag retirement box, Jase said. “It could be a wooden chest or something like that, but I wanted something that looked cool.”

He and his father, Chris Blanchard, drew up the plans together and the younger scouts constructed it, with Jase’s guidance. Gotcha Signs from the Northeast community provided the graphics that grace the box.

“Throughout scouts as a whole, they teach you how to live your life,” Jase said. “It’s more than just camping in the woods.”

“I think it’s pretty amazing,” Chris Blanchard said of his son’s project. “I’m really proud of him.”

The Blanchards also pointed out that it’s difficult for teenagers to stay in the Boy Scouts past the age of 16, so a very low percentage actually complete Eagle Scout projects and earn the rank. In fact, only 6% of Boy Scouts earn their Eagle Scout badge.

“It’s a very small amount,” Chris said, “so this is all a pretty big deal.”

Since Jase completed his project in July, he said the feedback has been nothing but positive.

“There’s been a ton of flags that have been left here in the box,” Chris said. “We’ve had people tell us they never knew what to do with their old, damaged flags until they saw the box.”

The box is located just outside the entrance of the American Legion in Wallace, and flags can be dropped off inside the box at any time, day or night.

WALLACE — For just the second time in its existence, the Carolina Strawberry Festival has awarded grants to local organizations, this year totaling $15,100.

“I think a big thing with our festival last year was that it was the most financially successful festival to date,” said Charley Farrior, former Wallace mayor and president of the Carolina Strawberry Festival board. “We decided to use those extra funds to give back to the community. Last year, we gave out $11,000 in grants. This year, it was $15,100.”

The grants were awarded during an event on Oct. 30 at the Wallace Woman’s Club. The awardees were:

• The Wallace Chamber of Commerce, $2,500, for light pole banners, to be posted in downtown Wallace, the Wallace Crossing shopping center and Town and Country Shopping Center. The banners will be large, heavy-duty vinyl.

• Helping Hands Outreach Ministry, $2,500, for its food drive project. Each Thursday, Helping Hands gives out 150-200 food boxes to needy individuals in the area. The funds will be used for transportation of food, and for paving the food drive entrance.

• Pet Friends of Duplin County, $1,000, to help with the annual Pet Day in the Park event, held at Clement Park in Wallace.

• Town of Wallace, $2,500, for new wayfinding signs. “This first phase of this project will install two wayfinding signs on Main Street at each end of the historic downtown district as well as parking signage at the train depot,” explained Town Manager Rob Taylor. “Future signs will be strategically added throughout town in the coming years. The signs will keep with the branding theme the town has created with its new welcome signs. A classic black and gold historical style marker will be used accented with red to signify strawberries.”

• Wallace Depot Commission, $2,500, for the rehabilitation of the Railway Postal Car. “The Wallace Depot Commission feels that the Wallace Railway Postal Car is an amazing museum piece, and a wonderful asset to Wallace as well as our surrounding areas,” Depot Commission Chair Michael Blackburn said. “We feel that when our RPO is completed it will be an attraction that will bring additional visitors to Wallace and to the Depot to see the interior of this remark.”

• Friends of the Wallace Parks, $2,100, for a “Creature Comforts” project, which will install benches at the dog park at Farrior Park. “With this grant we will purchase four benches for the canine companions to enjoy while their pets play,” said Georgia Farrior, chairperson of Friends of the Wallace Parks. “These all-weather, commercial-grade benches will last for decades.”

• Emily Ludlum, Melissa Stevens, and Georgia Farrior, $2,000, for helping our western North Carolina neighbors. Ludlum, Stevens, Farrior and a few other ladies from the River Landing community have gathered supplies and donations for the victims of Hurricane Helene since the storm hit in September. The $2,000 will be used for the group’s next trip to the western NC community, which will be in December.

“We are really excited for what these grants will do to help the town of Wallace and to help folks in western NC,” Charley Farrior said. “It’s very rewarding to be able to give back.”

As for next year’s Carolina Strawberry Festival, Farrior said bands have already been booked and the dinosaur show will again return. There will also be another Garden Gala the weekend before the festival.