VOLUME 9 ISSUE 33 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
COURTESY EMERGE MINISTRIES VOLUNTEERS
Emerge Ministries out of Beulaville is helping mobilize hundreds of volunteers to western North Carolina to help with relief efforts. Amidst all the loss and the devastation, volunteers are making a meaningful impact, helping with search-and-rescue efforts, clearing roads and building paths to get to communities that have been trapped for days without a hot meal or water. Turn to page A6 for more photos.
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Crews on Monday converted the west Wallace Walmart exit and entrance to right turn only.
BRIEF this week
Candlelight vigil planned for pregnancy, infant loss awareness Kenansville Wave of Light, a candlelight vigil for pregnancy and infant loss awareness, will be held on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Kenansville Courtyard. Candles, hot cocoa and light refreshments will be provided during the candlelight vigil in recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
Voter registration deadlines loom Duplin County Citizens who have not registered to vote can still do so until the standard deadline on Friday, Oct. 11 or during the early voting period from Oct. 17 to Nov. 2. Absentee ballots must be received by the Duplin County Board of Elections no later than Oct. 29. Early voting sites are located at the American Legion Building at 529 E. Southerland St. in Wallace and the Lois G. Britt Agricultural Service Center at 165 Agriculture Drive in Kenansville. Curbside voting is available at all voting sites. Election Day is Nov. 5, voters may cast their vote at their polling place from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Call the Duplin County Board of Elections Office at 910-296-2170 with any questions.
NC Poultry Jubilee adds car show Rose Hill The NC Poultry Jubilee Car Show will be Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rose Hill Fire Department with awards going to best of show, people’s choice and other prizes. Registration starts at 9 a.m. For information or to
Duplin volunteers’ relief efforts shine bright ABBY CAVENAUGH / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Wallace Walmart undergoes traffic pattern change The west access road is now right turn only By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal WALLACE — Starting last week, the Wallace Walmart enacted a new traffic pattern that’s designed to reduce the number of collisions and make entering and exiting the parking lot easier. Since Thursday, the west access road, by the Murphy gas station, is right turn only, meaning motorists can only go east on N.C. 41. In order to go west on N.C. 41, motorists must exit
via the stop light by the Burger King and Zaxby’s entrance/exit or enter the Dollar Tree parking lot and turn around. Police Chief Jimmy Crayton said the change is long overdue. “We’ve been requesting it forever,” he told Duplin Journal, explaining that the Walmart management has included the traffic pattern change as part of their ongoing store renovations. The town had requested that the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT) add a stoplight to the intersection, but DOT had indicated it would be too close to the existing stoplight at the See WALMART, page A5
By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal AFTER THE remnants of Hurricane Helene unleashed a trail of destruction and casualties across western North Carolina and the death toll continues to rise, relief efforts remain crucial. Volunteers led by Terry Norris, executive director of Emerge Chaplains Response Team and Emerge Ministries in Beulaville, deployed to Black Mountain before the storm to help with relief efforts. “This is our 21st mission and deployment for Emerge Ministries doing disaster relief,” said Norris during an interview. “The Free Will Baptist organization has been kind enough to lend (the Cragmont Assembly facility) to use as the Emerge Chaplain’s Response Team command center.”
School board members voice concerns over state accountability system “It’s not fair to our teachers who work hard. These grades do not determine the work that our educators are putting into our children to make them better.” Reginald Kenan, Duplin Board of Education
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Boots on the ground
The board also discussed free or discounted high school game admission for senior citizens By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal KENANSVILLE — Members of the Duplin County Board of Education made their feelings known about state-required accountability testing at their Oct. 1 meeting. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s accountability results for the 2023-24 school year were announced Sept. 4. Although Duplin County Schools are no longer designated as a low-performing district, the individual schools had mixed accountability grades, with only one school, Duplin Early College High School,
earning a B, while six schools earned Cs, three were graded D, and three got Fs. After a presentation of the results to the school board, Board Vice Chair Reginald Kenan stated, “We talk about this all the time, and it’s very complex and confusing how you grade schools.” He added that he’s frustrated to see people voice support for public schools and then vote for political candidates who are clearly anti-public schools. “If we believe we want what’s best for our children, then we must support people who support public schools,” Kenan said. Kenan said he hoped schools would be measured more by growth than by current standards. “I’m not a teacher, but I’ve got enough sense to know a child See BOARD, page A5
While Helene came into the western NC region as a tropical storm, it brought so much torrential rain to an already sodded area that it caused significant flooding and landslides, swallowing entire neighborhoods under fast-moving water. Norris told Duplin Journal volunteers had tried to persuade people to evacuate, but some did not anticipate the severity of the situation and chose to remain. He recounted the story of two elderly people who had been friends for 50 years. Despite warnings, the two decided to stay to weather the storm. Sadly, one of them did not survive as their house was swept away by floodwaters and carried down the mountain into the river. “Up in another hauler we went to, there was nephews and nieces and uncles, grandmas and grandpas and mothers and daughters, and there See BOOTS, page A6