VOLUME 9 ISSUE 13 | THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Warsaw man raises concerns about town’s record keeping “I don’t know what kind of shenanigans is going on in the township of Warsaw, but how long has it been going on like this?” Cecil Lennon
A $900 bill for an existing tap brings light to administrative inefficiencies By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal WARSAW — A $900 bill for an existing water tap brought light to some inefficiencies in the Town of Warsaw’s record keeping during the town board’s regular monthly meeting, last week. Cecil Lennon appeared in front of the town board on May 13 to address issues with a bill to install a new tap at an old property he purchased that already had a tap. This is not the first time Lennon was
asked to pay for a new tap in property he purchased to renovate, nor the first time he had to appear in front of the town board to get solutions. Lennon explained if there was water going to the property at some point in the past, there was an existing tap there and he should not have to pay for a new tap. “If there is a tap that is already set and it is there, why do I have to pay for a new tap of $900? This is the second time it has happened. Where does the $900 accumulate from and why?” Lennon asked the board. See WARSAW, page 12
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BRIEF this week
Mexican Consulate comes to JSCC in June, offers services to Mexican nationals Kenansville The Mexican Consulate will be present at James Sprunt Community College June 3 through June 7. They will offer passport services, consular registration, birth certificate certified copies and voting credential processing for Mexican nationals. Appointments are required. Interested parties can call or send a message via WhatsApp to 424-309-0009 or visit citas.sre.gob.mx to schedule an appointment. DJS
FOCUS Broadband issues email phishing alert, warns customers Regional FOCUS Broadband issued a consumer alert about a phishing email going around telling customers that old ATMC mailboxes will be closing, and prompting them to click on a link to continue to use the same password. FOCUS Broadband is asking customers to delete the email, do not click on any links or attachments and to not respond to the email. DJS
USDA releases data from 2022 Ag Census Statewide Data released last week from the report on the 2022 Census of Agriculture conducted every five years by USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, shows North Carolina as the eighth-largest state for agricultural sales, accounting for $18.7 billion, and the third state for top commodities leading the poultry and egg industry at $76.5 billion. According to the report, farm numbers continue to trend down from loss of agricultural land. Also according to the report, the value of agricultural production in the U.S. continues to rise — making more ag products with less land. Lastly, high commodity prices in 2022 helped farms boost incomes and asset values, improving their debt ratios.
ABBY CAVENAUGH / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Rep. Jimmy Dixon, left, received the Founding Legislator Award from the N.C. Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission during the commission’s first invitational event on May 14 at River Landing in Wallace. He was presented the award by Murphy Family Ventures CEO and chairman of the commission Wendell “Dell” Murphy Jr., right. Turn to page 6 for more photos.
Duplin man Duplin leaders pivotal in wins $100K getting NC youth outdoors in NC lottery Rep. Jimmy Dixon earns award; Dell Murphy chairs outdoors commission By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal WALLACE — Nine years ago, Jimmy Dixon, who represents Duplin County in the N.C. House of Representatives, was determined to get more kids off of computer and phone screens and into the great outdoors. Last Tuesday night, May 14, he was awarded for his efforts by the North Carolina Youth Outdoors Engagement Commission.
Dixon received the Founding Legislator Award from the commission, which held its first-ever NC Youth Outdoors Engagement Invitational at the River Landing Clubhouse in Wallace. In 2015, Dixon sponsored House Bill 640, the North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Act, which created what is now known as the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission. “By 2015, it had become evident that kids were spending less time outdoors and more time indoors on screens,” said Justin Burr, executive direc-
Magnolia to relocate sewer plant’s electrical service A $135K hazard mitigation grant will fund the move By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal THE TOWN OF MAGNOLIA was recently awarded a hazard mitigation grant of $135,000 to help with disaster prevention. According to Town Manager Charles “Twig” Rollins, the funding will enable them to move the town’s sewer plant electrical service to higher ground — away from the current area which is prone to flash flooding. “The old electrical service was put there, like, 30 years ago and it’s in the flood-prone area,” Rollins told Duplin Journal, adding that when they have heavy rains
and flash flooding, that area floods and if it gets bad it could cause the power to go off at the wastewater treatment plant. “So, this will get it out of that flash-flood area into higher ground,” he explained. The next step for the town is to put it out for bid, and once it goes through the process, the town will schedule it with Duke Energy and make the transition. “I anticipate it’d probably be by the end of summer before the project would be complete, to early fall,” said Rollins, adding that it will be an easy transition. He doesn’t expect power outages, but they have a generator in case of any eventuality. “We’ll inform the public if the power goes out. If we do, it will be very momentarily, would be my suspicion, but that’s going to
tor of the NC Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission. “Lawmakers knew that that couldn’t go unchecked. Studies are frequently being published that demonstrate the negative effects of excessive screen time on the mental and physical health and overall well-being of youth and adults. Our commission is working to reverse those trends for students across the state. Since being established, the commission has taken seriously the task of encouraging less screen time, and more green time in North Carolina.” See OUTDOORS, page 6
be left up to the electrical people,” said Rollins. In other news, at the May 14 regular meeting, the Magnolia town board accepted an offer from Blackburn Development to buy 32 acres of land that the town owns. “Based on the zoning, it could possibly mean up to 100 new houses,” said Rollins about the offer, which is currently in the upset bid process. “And when that’s all said and done, the only thing that can be done on that piece of property is residential based on its current zoning.” Rollins shared that this could be a game changer for the town of Magnolia. “The potential is a nice subdivision with a significant increase in the population of Magnolia, with all the benefits that come with new growth, and hopefully it will attract more service businesses to our area,” he said. Rollins added that it could potentially increase the town’s population by 25% or more.
The winning ticket was purchased in Warsaw Duplin Journal Staff BERNARD PHELPS of Magnolia stopped for gas Tuesday morning and couldn’t believe his eyes when a $50 scratch-off purchase delivered him a $100,000 prize. “I thought I was seeing things,” he laughed. Phelps bought his lucky $10 Million Spectacular ticket from Tiger Mart on N.C. 24 in Warsaw. “That was just the first ticket I looked at,” Phelps recalled. He arrived at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday to claim his prize and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $71,514. Phelps said he didn’t have plans yet for his winnings but said he would “make sure it gets spent wisely.” The $10 Million Spectacular game debuted in December with five top prizes of $10 million, 20 prizes of $1 million and 20 prizes of $100,000. Three $10 million prizes, 13 $1 million prizes and 10 $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed. For details on how $4.5 million raised by the lottery made a difference for education programs in Duplin County last year, visit nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
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