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Michael Jaenicke

Duplin County experiencing severe drought 

Duplin County experiencing severe drought 

On Thursday, Jan. 16 the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) issued a drought advisory, classifying Duplin County as one of 11 counties in eastern North Carolina experiencing severe drought conditions.

“This current dry spell in North Carolina began with a very dry October and warm November,” said Klaus Albertin, chair of the DMAC. “We have had a number of rain events, but the total monthly precipitation for many areas in the state has been below average in October, November and December. While some areas received four to 4 to 6 inches of snowfall last week, the water equivalence of snow is much less than rainfall, so the end effect was less than an inch of moisture.” 

According to the advisory report, impacts to water systems are expected to be limited at this time due to lower demand and dormant vegetation. Water users are advised to follow the Water Shortage Response recommended by their water utilities.  The mid- to long-term forecast indicates a continuation of dry winter conditions due to the La Niña weather pattern.

DMAC updates its drought map every Thursday, based on conditions observed through the previous Tuesday. The next update will be released on Jan. 23. Visit www.ncdrought.org to view North Carolina’s drought map. 

Mount Olive fires town manager

Mount Olive fires town manager

MOUNT OLIVE — Mount Olive Town Manager Jammie Royall was dismissed after a special closed session meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 13. The vote, which was held after the closed session, was 3-2 with Commissioners Delreese Simmons and Vicky Darden opposed. The board also voted 3-2 to appoint Glenn Holland, currently the utilities superintendent, as interim town manager.

The move has been anticipated for several months, with several commissioners mentioning during the December and January regular meetings that the town needed new leadership. The special closed session meeting was originally scheduled for Jan. 15, but was moved up due to Royall having scheduled surgery on Jan. 14, Commissioner Thomas Brown said. After the surgery, Royall would have been out for three months, he added.

Simmons took to Facebook to protest against the decision, pointing out that the three commissioners who voted for Royall’s dismissal — Brown, Danny Keel and Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Kornegay — are all white, while Simmons and Darden are Black. “How is it the three white commissioners knew who they had picked as [interim] town manager, but the two blacks knew nothing?” he wrote.

“I assure you the decision made on Mr. Royall had nothing to do with race,” Brown told Duplin Journal. “There was nothing racial behind it. It was strictly performance-based reasons.”

Keel agreed. “The only comment I would make is that the decision was based on performance,” he said. “He was just not doing the job. His performance was not to the expectations of the board.”

However, Simmons alleges that the board never gave Royall a fair chance. “Jammie didn’t do some of the things they wanted him to,” Simmons told Duplin Journal. “But Jammie’s had his hands tied since day one. They made it impossible for him to do his job.”

The strife over the town manager has added to simmering tensions on the board, with Simmons speaking out at each board meeting about other commissioners, without naming names.

Brown called the tension on the board “disheartening,” and reiterated that the decision on the town manager was a necessary one. “We were put in a position where we had to do something,” he said. “We have a lot going on in town, and we need someone to steer the ship.”

Keel added, “I hate it because I want everyone to get along. With time, I believe things will get better. I think we’re no different from many other boards in that we don’t always agree.”

Kornegay and Darden didn’t respond to calls for comment as of this writing.

JSCC sees record-breaking registrations for ​​spring semester

KENANSVILLE — James Sprunt Community College announced record-breaking enrollment for the spring semester compared to last year, despite a town-wide power outage on the final day of walk-in registration.

According to the announcement, JSCC faculty and staff swiftly adapted to ensure that students had continuous access to enrollment support. As a result, the college extended the registration period by three days, providing teams on-site to assist students throughout the process.

Enrollment increased by more than 10%. JSCC officials credit this success to the college’s innovative efforts aimed at simplifying the registration and financial aid processes. These initiatives included offering various scholarships, hosting pop-up recruitment events throughout the community, and conducting walk-in registration sessions at the Strickland Student Center on the Kenansville campus.

Warsaw fined $19.7K for wastewater violations

Warsaw fined $19.7K for wastewater violations

WARSAW — On Jan. 8 the town of Warsaw was issued two notices of violation and assessment of civil penalties totalling $19,712.02 in fines for infractions at the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).

The first notice outlines a fine of $12,113.51 for 10 violations incurred from Aug. 17, 2024 through Aug. 31, 2024. During this period, the facility exceeded the weekly biochemical oxygen demand by 73% and the monthly average BOD by 13.8%. The WWTP recorded excessive levels of fecal coliform, exceeding three weekly thresholds by 505%, 505% and 441%, and the monthly geometric mean for fecal coliform by 620%. The notice also indicated violations of two weekly ammonia nitrogen standards by 42% and 198%, with the monthly average ammonia nitrogen exceeding limits by 205%. Furthermore, the facility exceeded the monthly flow limit by 3%.

The second notice details four violations incurred from Sept. 7, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2024, totalling $7,598.51. This document indicates that the facility exceeded the monthly average BOD by 5%, three weekly fecal coliform thresholds by 18%, 103%, and 505%, the monthly geometric mean for fecal coliform by 20%, and the monthly average ammonia nitrogen by 21%.

According to the National Library of Medicine, high levels of fecal coliform in wastewater effluents indicate the potential presence of disease-causing pathogens. Poor-quality effluents can expose downstream users to waterborne diseases, which may enter the body through the mouth, nose, ears, or cuts in the skin, increasing the risk of illnesses such as hepatitis, gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, dysentery, and ear infections.

The documents noted that while the extent of harm has not been quantified, the summer Instream Waste Concentration was estimated at 92.2%. This metric is used to assess the potential environmental impact of wastewater discharge—a higher IWC reflects a greater proportion of wastewater present in the receiving waters.

According to Town Manager Lea Turner, an industrial pretreatment program is in place to monitor and regulate compliance. She explained that the town is “working with local industries to ensure they are reporting and being held accountable for noncompliance.”

In an email to the Duplin Journal, Turner mentioned that the town has been upgrading the WWTP for a number of years and is currently exploring grant opportunities for additional funding.

“We have recently added clarifiers and filters to the system. We are currently looking into adding diffusers into the system to add air to the waste for better sludge management and treatment,” Turner explained.

Turner also announced that a request to change the terminology from “expansion” to “water and sewer improvements” in a $7.5 million grant received by the town was approved.

“The earmark was originally for sewer capacity expansion, but expansion requires extra permitting which takes longer than the time allotted to allocate funding. These funds will be used to repair/replace equipment and sewer lines to more efficiently handle the current flows and to decrease infiltration into the system,” said Turner. “Our engineers are working on plans to move forward with needed repairs/upgrades.”

Since December 2023, Warsaw has incurred fines totaling $65,590.02 from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

Northeast Cape Fear River cleanout begins

Northeast Cape Fear River cleanout begins

KENANSVILLE — Cleanup of the Northeast Cape Fear River and its tributaries began last week at the Duplin/Pender County line and will cover approximately 40 miles.

The cleanup project was approved last year after Tropical Storm Debby reignited flooding concerns. The Board of County Commissioners appropriated $1.25 million to Soil and Water for storm debris removal in sections one through six of the river as a protective measure, declaring the debris and siltation in the river a public emergency.

Billy Ivey, Duplin County Soil & Water Conservation director, told Duplin Journal that the cleanup will extend all the way to Highway 111 and Highway 903. Cleanup began on section one at Rockfish Creek and will continue on section two from Deep Bottom Road to Chinquapin Bridge on Highway 41. Section three will proceed from Chinquapin Bridge to Hallsville Bridge, section four from Hallsville Bridge to Highway 24 between Beulaville and Kenansville, section five from Highway 24 to the Sarecta Bridges, and section six will finish from the Sarecta Bridges to Highways 111 and 903 near B.F. Grady School.

As part of the project, cleanup crews will remove debris from the river and place it at least 30 feet from the riverbank, securing the piles with environmentally friendly, high-tensile strength rope to prevent the debris from floating back into the river. The crews will also clean feeder creeks as they progress through the area.

Ivey explained that, while there is no guarantee the debris won’t end up back in the river, the proposed method has been effective in reducing the amount of debris washed back in.

He also told Duplin Journal that while this will not prevent flooding during major storm events, it will take longer for flooding to occur because the river will have fewer obstructions to the flow of water.

“What we have seen over the years in doing creek cleanout is that the water will flow out quicker instead of all those blockages, which makes it way slower in a flood event for the water to recede,” said Ivey.

He noted that they allow contractors ample time to complete the project since much of it depends on weather conditions.

“I don’t have an exact estimate at the time. It depends on weather, depends on the level of the river,” Ivey explained, noting that work cannot proceed if the river gauge reaches a certain level. “The river has to be a certain level on the gage and have the conditions for them to work, for safety reasons and to make sure they’re able to get and see all the debris.”

The total cost of the project is approximately $757,275.50. Ivey reported that contracts for Muddy Creek, Island Creek, and section six of the river were awarded to Snatch-It Clearing. Halls Tree Service received contracts for sections one through five of the river, while Hall-American Property Pros LLC was awarded the Rockfish Creek job.

Funding for this project is sourced from grants provided by the Department of Public Safety and the state’s Streamflow Rehabilitative Assistance Program (StRAP).

The last river cleanout took place in 2020-2021, extending from the Wayne County-Duplin County line to the Pender-Duplin line. According to the National Association of Conservation Districts, Duplin County has secured more StRAP funds than any other district in the state to assist in mitigating future flood damage.

“We’ve been very fortunate as a county,” Ivey remarked. “We’ve been able to put a lot of dollars on the ground with stream debris removal. The first round of STRAP, which was 2020, roughly in those years, we were able to get $1.9 million. This new round of STRAP funding for 2024 was $300,000. But we spent well over a million just on the river the first time, and that’s not even counting Florence, Matthew, Dorian, all those funds that we had spent on creek cleanout and all that.”

Duplin saw significant growth, infrastructure achievements in 2024

KENANSVILLE — The year 2024 was marked by significant growth and notable infrastructure achievements in Duplin County with a lot of development taking place at Duplin Commons and the Airpark.

One of the most notable highlights for 2024 was the county commissioners decision to move forward with building a new jail to replace the deteriorating facility currently in use. An article published in January after touring the facility provided an inside look at the many challenges employees and inmates face daily. In February, the board took a decisive step and approved moving forward with the construction of the 236-bed facility, estimated to cost $44.1 million. On July 22, Duplin County officials gathered at Fairgrounds Drive in Kenansville for the groundbreaking ceremony, marking “the beginning of a new era for our community, one that prioritizes safety, economic growth and the efficient use of public resources.” The new jail is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026.

Duplin also celebrated the opening of the Duplin County Animal Care Control and Adoption Center, a $3.7 million facility, in May. Also, the Transportation Department moved to their $4.27 million facility at the Duplin Commons in the Spring.

June 4, 2024, marked a significant milestone for Duplin County with the unveiling of the George Futrelle Terminal at the Duplin County Airport in memory of the late airport director, who passed away in May 2023 after post-surgical complications.

The Futrelle family and more than 60 local and state officials gathered at the Duplin County Airport to celebrate Futrelle’s memory and legacy. County Commissioner Dexter Edwards and Representative Jimmy Dixon held back tears as they spoke about Futrelle’s leadership and kind soul. Senator Ted Budd’s regional director, Sam Shumate, presented a U.S. flag to Renee, Futrelle’s widow. Following the unveiling of the plaque for the George Futrelle Terminal, Futrelle’s photograph was placed in the vestibule, where it will be permanently displayed.

This year, the Duplin County Board of Elections welcomed Carrie Sullivan, who replaced Jasmine Gadsden as the new director only five months before the presidential elections. Sullivan was sworn in on June 6 and hit the floor running.

Sullivan saw record numbers of voters compared to the previous presidential election, with more than 1,900 voters on the first day of early voting.

Duplin County Board of Commissioners Elwood Garner, Wayne E. Branch, and Jesse Dowe were all reelected to another four-year term and sworn in at the Dec. 2 meeting. Duplin County Board of Education members Brent Davis, Reginald Kenan, and Claudius Morrisey were also reelected.

This year’s budget included a 5% increase for all full-time employees hired on or before June 30, with targeted recruitment and retention increases for public safety employees between 8% and 15%.

On July 29, James Sprunt Community College celebrated an innovative partnership with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Box-to-Bowl smart farm, North Carolina community colleges’ first hydroponic smart farm container ​​at JSCC’s WestPark Campus.

The Box-to-Bowl smart farm is the product of a partnership between Four County EMC, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, JSCC, and Duplin County, supported by a grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund.

Thanks to this joint effort pioneering sustainable agriculture and local food production, students can learn about agriculture in a 320-square-foot smart farm that brings vertical gardening and hydroponic farming under one roof. The climate-controlled environment of the Box-to-Bowl smart farm enables students to get hands-on experience growing local produce with soluble nutrients under the leadership of Katlyn R. Foy, JSCC agricultural instructor, and smart farm manager.

In August, Duplin County Emergency Medical Services responded to hundreds of Tropical Storm Debby related emergencies, closing about a dozen roads. By Aug. 10, the Northeast Cape Fear River at Chinquapin had crested at 16.54 feet, the highest the county has experienced in the last six years. This prompted the county to take action to prevent flooding, leading to an emergency meeting where the Board of Commissioners declared the debris and siltation in the Northeast Cape Fear River a public emergency and appropriated $1.25 million as an emergency protective measure to address the storm debris in sections one through six, as well as Muddy Creek, Rockfish Creek, and Island Creek.

“It really brought up the need that we need to dredge our rivers, so that was really the starting point as to where we realized that we can’t wait anymore that our citizens are at risk and we’ve got to do something to dredge the rivers and get it cleaned up,” Carrie Shields, assistant county manager told Duplin Journal during an interview.

In August, the Rose Hill Volunteer Fire Department relocated to its new $3.1 million facility on East Main Street. The new 14,000-square-foot firehouse is a vast upgrade from the old fire station with five drive-through double bays.

In September, after Hurricane Helene’s remnants unleashed a trail of devastation across western North Carolina, people from all over Duplin County mobilized to support disaster victims.

In November, the New Senior and Veteran Services Center celebrated its official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Duplin Commons in Kenansville.

The new 12,363-square-foot facility, now home to the senior services and veterans offices, will facilitate access to resources for more seniors and veterans, enabling both departments to provide comprehensive services and foster community engagement. It features a state-of-the-art gym, dedicated areas for crafts and classes, a conference room, and indoor and outdoor recreation areas, complete with TVs throughout the facility.

On Nov. 22, the town of Faison unveiled the William E. Thornton Memorial monument and courtyard in honor of the late astronaut and Faison native. The 6-foot commemorative monument is the brainchild of Anne Taylor, who, alongside Carolyn Kenyon and Jimmy Tyndall, spearheaded the project with the invaluable support of the Faison Improvement Group and the generous contributions of the community. Today, the monument stands as a source of inspiration, bringing light to the life of a boy who reached for the stars and with hard work accomplished his dreams.

In December, the county moved to create a consolidated Health and Human Services Agency, consolidating the Health Department and Social Services.

According to County Manager Bryan Miller, they are looking into consolidating other departments, but it still has to be discussed with the Board of Commissioners, and he is estimating that it will be well after the new year.

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