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Ena Sellers

Authorities investigate Rose Hill fatal fire

Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that led to the death of Morrell Chasten, 88, of Rose Hill on Sunday. 

According to the Department of Emergency Management, the Duplin County 911 Center received a call about a fire in the area of 390 Clinic Circle Drive, Rose Hill on April 28 at 11:54 p.m. 

After responding units conducted a primary search of the structure, they found the man who was later identified as Chasten and removed him. 

Officials reported that despite medical personnel lifesaving efforts, Chasten succumbed to his injuries. He was later transported for an autopsy that will be conducted by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

“Out of respect for the family of the victims and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, no further details about the investigation will be released,” stated the report.

Medicaid expansion in Duplin County reaches 2,317 beneficiaries

Duplin residents without health insurance have jumped at the opportunity to have health coverage through the Medicaid expansion, reaching a total of 2,317 beneficiaries to date according to Annie Murrell, Duplin County Social Services director.

Murrell told the Duplin Journal that they have also seen an increase of people applying for other programs, like food assistance and help paying electric bills.

“We have had increases in other programs, such as our food and nutrition. We’ve seen an increase in applications there, and our crisis program,” said Murrell, explaining that a lot of beneficiaries are applying online and learning about other programs available.

Data from the NC Medicaid, Division of Health Benefits shows that 58.1% of those currently enrolled in Duplin County are females and 41.9% are males with 40.3% of beneficiaries falling into the 19-29 age bracket, 21% are between the ages of 30-39, 16% are 40-49 years old, 14.9% fall into the 50-59 age bracket and 6.8% are 60-64. In Duplin County 228 beneficiaries are documented non-citizens.

Despite departmental shortages the staff is managing to keep up with the challenges.

“We are still losing employees to our neighboring counties that pay significantly more money than we do…  so, we’re trying to work through that,” said Murrell, adding that they have quite a few dedicated employees that love working at the agency.

“We do have a good percentage that won’t leave, but we do have a lot that are leaving,” said Murrell, explaining that in the last two months, at least four employees left to go work for a county that offered better pay. She also explained that usually some individuals know whether that is the type of work that they want to do within their first two years, so that also plays a factor on employee turnover. 

“In Medicaid, I have 52 positions, and out of 52, I have eight vacancies, which is a 15% vacancy rate,” said Murrell, adding that across the board they have a 20.89% vacancy rate for the department, which is the highest that it’s been in the last two years.

“I would say retaining staff is, right now, one of the challenges.”

Q&A Series: Getting to Know Charley Farrior

Q&A Series: Getting to Know Charley Farrior

Charley Farrior has lived most of his life in Wallace, save for four years at N.C. State University and about a year and a half in Kannapolis working for Canon Mills. So it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s one of the town’s biggest cheerleaders and supporters. Farrior served on the town council for 35 years, with 26 of those as mayor. He’s also president of the Carolina Strawberry Festival, which has become Wallace’s premier event, in addition to serving on numerous boards and committees, both for Wallace and Duplin County as a whole. For our next Q&A series, the Duplin Journal sat down with Farrior, and asked him about his many years of service to the town of Wallace, as well as the upcoming Strawberry Festival.

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What made you first want to become mayor of Wallace?

My daddy was mayor from 1970-1979. I remember the celebrations and the joy he had in doing the job, but I also remember a lot of the challenges that he had in doing that job. And honestly, for a long time, I wasn’t sure that was something I wanted to follow.

But in 1986, the mayor at that time, Earl Whitaker, passed away while he was in office. And so that created a vacancy. The mayor pro tem was Arnold Duncan, so Arnold stepped into the mayor seat at that time. And then they had a vacancy on the board, and the town council at that time asked me would I consider running out Arnold’s unexpired term since he had moved up to mayor. I thought about it a lot and talked with [my wife] Harriet about it a lot, and decided that I wanted to see if I could contribute to the town that I love. So I got on the town council, and served a number of terms there and then in 1995, Arnold said that he was not going to run for mayor again and asked if it was something I wanted to do. The rest is history.

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How has the town of Wallace changed since you first became mayor until now?

Having been mayor for 26 years, it’s changed a great deal. The one word that pops into my mind is growth. We’ve had growth downtown, and downtown in past years has been cyclical. You’ll have a flourishing downtown and then you might have a number of businesses that go out of business, or business owners pass away and you’d have empty buildings. But right now, I think Wallace’s downtown is the best that I have known it, particularly since I have been mayor.

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What do you think makes the Strawberry Festival a great event for the community?

I think the Strawberry Festival, of course, its history is a celebration of agriculture, a celebration of the strawberry, which was the money crop for farmers back in the ‘30s, some into the ‘40s. Farmers would bring their strawberries to town, they’d auction them off, load them on trains, carry strawberries to New York and places further than Wallace. It was just a big, big deal and of course, all of Wallace would get together at the end of strawberry season and celebrate, and that’s where the Strawberry Festival started. It was that big celebration.

I think our festival now brings together folks of all ages. There’s something at the festival for everybody to do, no matter what age you are. Lots and lots of vendors; over 150 vendors this year. it’s just going to be a good time for everybody.

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On a more personal note, what do you do in your spare time?

I like being part of my grandchildren’s lives. They’re in beauty pageants, they’re in dance recitals, they’re playing baseball, and Harriet and I try to attend as many of those events as we can. And in addition to that, I just like volunteering in groups that help the town of Wallace and help Duplin County.

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What’s the last book you read?

The last book I read was ‘Boss Hog: The Legacy of Wendell Murphy.’ I really enjoyed reading that. It talks a lot about Wendell’s life and it brings in local folks that helped him build his industry. A lot of those local folks, I know. I like success stories and that book is a very creative man that wanted to change the hog industry and did that, and was successful at doing that, while he worked very, very hard.

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What’s your favorite eatery in Duplin County?

I can’t boil that down to one. If I want a hamburger, I like to go to Dixon’s Grill. If I want a steak, I go to the Country Squire. If I want a pork meal, I go to the Mad Boar. If I want just good old country cooking, I like the Rose Hill Restaurant. A really good sandwich, I like Duplin Winery. If I want a croissant, I’m going to go to Burney’s. And if I get coffee, I’m probably going to go to MoJoe’s.

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What, in your opinion, is the best thing about Duplin County?

The best thing about Duplin County is the people. They’re good folks that want to help their neighbor and their friends celebrate their successes, but also want to be there in times of need. And I think that love among the people is something that you don’t see in every area.

Garden Gala kicks off Strawberry Festival in style

Garden Gala kicks off Strawberry Festival in style

For the first time in its long history, the Carolina Strawberry Festival kicked off a week early with the Garden Gala, held Saturday, April 27, at the Gardens at Johnson Nursery in Willard.

“The main thing is we want to have an event kind of like the Azalea Festival Garden Party to kick off the festival,” said Kristyn Padgett, who handles advertising and social media for the Strawberry Festival.

Nearly 300 people turned out for the event, which included live entertainment from the Catalinas, food and beverage vendors, and self-guided tours through the lush, picturesque gardens at Johnson Nursery.

“It’s really important to have events like this,” said Johnson Nursery owner David Johnson. “The mission of the Gardens is a nonprofit. We started this to display what we grow, and to improve lives by helping people learn about what grows here.”

In addition to calling attention to the Gardens for people who might have never seen them, Johnson said he also agreed to host the event because it was a great way for the Carolina Strawberry Festival organizers to thank the festival’s sponsors with a fun garden party.

“It’s exciting,” said Annie Johnson, David’s daughter, who also works at Johnson Nursery. “Our grounds are really beautiful, and it’s exciting to display them and have people see the gardens.”

Plein air painters were dotted throughout the gardens during the event, painting scenes that played out in front of their eyes. Painter Patrick Raynor said the artists were from the Wilmington Art Association, which promotes plein air painting throughout Pender, New Hanover and surrounding counties.

Along with the live beach and classic music from the Catalinas, there was also plenty of mingling and hugs, and a garden party atmosphere throughout the event.

The Carolina Strawberry Festival itself will begin on Friday night at 6 p.m. in downtown Wallace, with performances by the North Tower Band, followed by the Band of Oz at 8 p.m., as well as rides from Funtime Amusements and dinosaurs from Ed’s Dinosaurs both days of the festival.

Saturday, the festival kicks off in earnest with a 5K race at 8 a.m., corn hole tournament at 9 a.m., and the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. The day will feature more than 150 food, crafts, and arts vendors lining the streets of downtown Wallace.

The Little Miss Strawberry pageant will be held at 10:30 a.m., with various performances from local dance troupes and musicians throughout the day. Rivermist, at 6 p.m., and the Tams at 8 p.m. will round out the day.

This year’s artwork will be featured on T-shirts and festival posters, and was created by Ashley Yanez, a student at Wallace-Rose Hill High School.

For more on the 2024 Carolina Strawberry Festival, visit the festival’s Facebook page, or http://carolinastrawberryfestival.com.

Beulaville teen named world champion at coonhound dog show

Beulaville teen named world champion at coonhound dog show

Leah Penny, 13, of Beulaville has made a name for herself on the coonhound dog show circuit, recently winning the youth senior division world championship at the American Coon Hound Association (ACHA) dog show in Patrick, South Carolina. 

“Leah has been showing coonhounds for around three years now,” her dad, Brent Penny, told the Duplin Journal. “She has grown up around hunting dogs her entire life and has deer hunted and coon hunted with me since she was very young.” 

Leah began to take an interest in showing dogs after she attended a competition coon hunt with him, and there was a dog show before the competition. “Leah watched the dog show and became very interested,” Brent Penny said. “She started showing some of my coonhounds and done pretty good with them.” 

After showing her father’s dogs for a while, Leah decided to get her own show-quality dogs, since Brent’s dogs were bred for hunting. “She has worked very hard with her dogs and trained a few of them herself with no help from anyone, using pointers that she has asked seasoned experts,” Brent said. “Most every day after her schooling she will be found outside working with her dogs.” 

In addition to her most recent win at the ACHA show, Leah has won at the Southeastern Treeing Walker Days, Southern English Days, Virginia state championship, North Carolina state championship, South Carolina state championship, Bluetick Breeders of America, and the UKC Winter Classic, among others. 

She is homeschooled and lives in Beulaville with her family. 

Greenevers Fireman’s Day Parade set for Saturday, April 27

By Ena Sellers

Duplin Journal

Fire Departments and emergency vehicles from across Duplin County will gather at Hargrove Road in Greenevers on Saturday, April 27, for the Greenevers Fireman’s Day Parade in honor of the brave men and women who serve Duplin County. 

The annual celebration will kick off at 10 a.m., and will conclude at 3 p.m., with a drawing at the Greenevers Community Center, located at 494 Clinic Circle Drive, Rose Hill.  

Greenevers Fire Chief Greg Carr, shared that after the parade they will have a program with several types of entertainment, vendors, food and rides for the children. 

“There will be some dancers, some singers and some cheerleaders doing cheerleaders’ skits,” said Chief Carr, adding that they will also have a comedian as the emcee. 

The Town of Greenevers, known for its Fireman’s Day Parade, invites the public to join them in this special celebration to support their first department and enjoy their delicious barbecue, grilled chicken with trimmings, and desserts. People interested in participating in the raffle can buy a ticket for $10. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 cash, the 2nd prize winner will receive $500, the 3rd prize winner will get $250, the 4th prize will get $200 and the 5th prize winner gets $50. You don’t have to be present to win. 

Visit facebook.com/greeneversfire, for more details about the parade. 

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