VOLUME 9 ISSUE 41 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
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Santa ushers in Christmas season
BRIEF this week
Jolly Old St. Nick rode in on a Kenansville Fire Department truck to round out the Kenansville Christmas Parade on Saturday, Nov. 30. The parade featured floats, fire trucks, pageant queens, clowns and much more. See more photos on B6.
New four-way stops in Faison Faison The town of Faison has installed two four-way stops on Solomon Street. One stop is located at the intersection of South Church Street and Solomon Street, while the other is at the intersection of South Sampson Street and Solomon. In an announcement made on Monday, Jimmy Tyndall, the executive town administrator, explained that the town hopes these new four-way stops will enhance neighborhood safety and reduce speeding. He noted that a couple of years ago, the town attempted to lower the speed limit to 25 mph in an effort to curb speeding; however, since that approach was ineffective, the installation of four-way stops became necessary.
Nominate volunteers for Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Duplin County It is that time of the year again to nominate and recognize some of the outstanding volunteers in Duplin County. Applications can be picked up at Duplin County Senior Services. The deadline to submit applications in person is Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
ABBY CAVENAUGH / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Violations an ongoing issue at Warsaw’s wastewater treatment plant Between December 2023 and May 2024, Warsaw has paid $45,878 in penalties By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal WARSAW — In the Nov. 21 edition of Duplin Journal, we covered some of the most pressing topics discussed during the town of Warsaw’s monthly meet-
ing. One of the biggest concerns addressed was the ongoing issues at the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), as notices of violation have become a recurrent theme for more than a year. On Nov. 6, the town of Warsaw was issued a notice of violation and intent to assess civil penalty highlighting fecal coliform readings six times the weekly allowed of 400/100ml and nearly three times the weekly ammonia nitro-
Area locals invited to comment on revised draft permit for Lear Corp. Kenansville Based on public input received from the first session, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources revised the proposed draft permit for Lear Corp, an industrial textile facility near Kenansville. The permit regulates pollutants discharged to the Northeast Cape Fear River in the facility’s wastewater. The public comment session will be on Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. at James Sprunt Community College at the Monk Auditorium in the Hoffler Building. Speaker registration opens at 5:30 p.m. on site via signup sheet. Written comments will also be accepted and must be postmarked no later than Dec. 18. They can be mailed to: Attn: Fenton Brown Jr., NPDES Wastewater Permitting, Attn: Lear Corporation Permit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699.
tions in that 10-day timeframe?,” asked Commissioner Ebony Willis-Wells at the November meeting, questioning Town Manager Lea Turner for not including the information about the violations in her report. Willis-Wells noted that the board should receive updates when the town manager meets with DEQ and should not be blindsided, receiving the See WARSAW, page A5
Mount Olive residents complain about water quality, transparency The mayor and commissioners vowed to address issues By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal ABBY CAVENAUGH / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Mount Olive Mayor Jerome Newton speaks during a contentious Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 2.
MOUNT OLIVE — Residents of Mount Olive are fed up with water problems and trans-
Wallace man arrested after standoff with law enforcement Belligerent suspect throws hot grease at officers Duplin Journal staff
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gen limit, with a total of 10 violations incurred from Aug. 3 to Aug. 31, 2024. “The town manager has the authorization to respond back within 10 days to argue the point in regards to the town being assessed those civil penalties. It is very critical that our town manager does respond back, and I would like to know, has our town manager responded back to any of those notices of viola-
WALLACE — The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office announced last week an arrest following a standoff with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Probation and patrol officers at Lincoln Street in Wallace on Nov. 19. Demarcus Carney had become agitated and belligerent, ultimately barricading himself inside his residence when law enforcement tried to arrest him with a probation violation warrant. According to the Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 5:10 p.m., deputies were notified of the situation and made their way to the location, accompanied by officers from the Wallace Police Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Upon arriving at the scene, “officers observed Carney breaking windows and attempting to throw what appeared to be hot grease at them from
inside the residence,” stated the press release. Law enforcement established an outer perimeter to create a safe zone for the evolving situation. Negotiators from the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office began communicating with Carney in an effort to deescalate the situation. After some time, these negotiation efforts were exhausted, prompting the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team to deploy less-lethal munitions to encourage Carney to exit the residence. Eventually, the Special Response Team was able to enter the residence, conduct a search of the interior and safely take Carney into custody without any injuries. “Duplin County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Wallace Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol, North Carolina Probation and Parole, Duplin County Emergency Services and Wallace Fire Department for their assistance in the incident,” wrote law enforcement.
parency issues plaguing their town, and they took the Board of Commissioners to task for it at the regular monthly meeting on Monday night, Dec. 2. During the public forum portion of the meeting, several citizens spoke up about the water discoloration that town See WATER, page A3