The Town of Faison gets ready for Spring with a Clean Sweep March 18-22

By Ena Sellers

Duplin Journal

FAISON — As we move into the Easter season the Town of Faison is gearing up for Spring and town officials are asking residents to remove non-seasonal items from the cemetery. 

Jimmy Tyndall, Faison Executive administrator, announced during the March 6 monthly meeting that the Public Works Department will be conducting a Clean Sweep March 18-22.

“We have ordered some yard signs to put out… to let folks know to remove everything that’s outdated or non-seasonal,” said Tyndall, adding that they are getting ready for Easter and mowing the cemetery lawn.

“We’ve got stuff down there that’s way out of date and out of respect, we didn’t mess with it for a little while. But it’s time for it to go. So, we’re going to be taking out everything from Christmas trees to Mountain Dew cans,” said Tyndall. “We’ve asked the street sweepers to come in that week also in preparation for the [Farmers Day] Parade.”

The town is inviting the public to come out on March 23 for the parade, which starts at 11 o’clock. 

In other business:

The board approved a request to have flag football and basketball programs over the summer, in addition to the summer camps.

The Faison Parks and Rec Department is working on upgrades for the soccer field and concession stand thanks to generous donations from Tri – County Electric in the amount of  $10,000 and with services to do installations and a donation from Enviva Pellet Plant in the amount of $5,000.

Tyndall shared that the soccer field lights have been ordered, and they are preparing to add wiring in the bathroom at the soccer field. 

“We exceeded what we thought we needed, and that’s pretty cool when that happens,” said Tyndall.

Mayor Billy Ward shared that they have also ordered water heaters to run hot water at the concession stand and the bathroom.

Tyndall provided an update on the status of the gym demolition, which started last week.

He shared that a miscalculation of square footage in the original inspection report provided to the town resulted in a price increase of about $5,000.

“But we were covered,” said Tyndall, adding that the plan is to have the demolition completed this month. 

The Board approved three after-school substitute teachers, one of them being retired mayor Carolyn Kenyon who volunteered to help the town. The board also approved one part-time person who will be helping at the Recreation Department.

“Our guys have really been helping us out a lot. Jimmy had to be a school teacher. Matthew had to be a school teacher and some of our other employees at the Rec Department had to be a school teacher because we don’t have enough substitutes,” said Mayor Ward.

The board approved the new amended Grant Project Ordinance.

After the commissioner reports the meeting adjourned. The next meeting will be on April 3.