VOLUME 9 ISSUE 34 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
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BRIEF this week
104th Veterans Day Celebration and Parade set for Nov. 2 Warsaw Come to downtown Warsaw and celebrate the nation’s oldest consecutive Veterans Day parade on Saturday, Nov. 2. The 104th Veterans Day Celebration and Parade will kick off at 11 a.m. The parade lineup starts at 10 a.m. The event will feature live music with 581 South Band playing from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a North Carolina Forestry flyover, the 82nd Special Forces Parachute jump team, a kids zone with bounce houses, food trucks, concessions, vendors and more! Warsaw was selected by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a regional site for the 2024 Veterans Day commemoration. The annual Veterans Day parade has become a staple of the Warsaw community and a yearly event families look forward to celebrating.
UMO celebrates homecoming, pickle classic weekend Mount Olive Homecoming and Pickle Classic Weekend is scheduled for Nov. 15‑16, and the theme for this year is Celebrating the Art and Soul of UMO. The weekend’s lineup of activities will feature concerts from a variety of genres, food trucks, vendor booths, Kid’s Korner, the Annual Golf Tournament, the Trojan Trot 5 K Walk/Run, Alumni and Hall of Fame awards ceremonies and, of course, Pickle Classic basketball. Visit umo.edu/homecoming for tickets and event times.
ABBY CAVENAUGH / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Gubernatorial candidate visits Rose Hill Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the embattled Republican nominee for North Carolina governor, met with supporters and delivered a speech at the Rose Hill Restaurant on Friday. See the full story on Page A7.
Wallace OKs rezoning for Royal Farms development Citizens spoke out during a contentious public hearing By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal WALLACE — The Wallace Town Council meeting last Thursday night was packed with residents of Plantation Acres, a community that borders the new proposed Royal Farms gas station development at the corner of Highways 41 and 11 in the Tin City area of Wallace. The residents were unanimously against the coun-
Kenansville James Sprunt Community College Small Business Center will be hosting a Small Business Expo at the Boyette Building in room 113 on Dec. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is open to the public.
Kenansville James Sprunt Community College announced changes in the Basic Law Enforcement Training course which will increase to 868 hours to obtain certification effective Jan. 1, 2025. The last opportunity to take BLET under the old curriculum of 640 hours is Dec. 18. For more information, call 910‑275-6205.
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See WALLACE, page A2 Randy Royal, an engineer with Kimley-Horn and Associates, shows the Wallace Town Council and Plantation Acres residents the plans for a retention pond that will likely go next to the proposed Royal Farms gas station.
Small Business Expo coming to JSCC
Basic Law Enforcement Training increases contact hours
cil granting a rezoning request to Two Farms, the owners of Royal Farms, which would change the zoning from residential to highway business-conditional (HB). Despite protests from the Plantation Acres residents, the council unanimously approved the rezoning request. The request has been on the council’s agenda for several months after being postponed once due to a tropical storm and, secondly, after Two Farms requested more time.
Brinson receives Order of the Long Leaf Pine County Commissioners honored four former county employees with prestigious awards By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal KENANSVILLE — Davis Brinson, former Duplin County manager, was one of four former county employees honored during the Oct. 7 County Commissioners meeting. Brinson, who retired on July 31, 2023, after serving in Duplin County for nearly three decades, was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award and a retirement f lag. “It was a very rewarding career working for Duplin County. I think I had a unique perspective on county government growing up two blocks from the courthouse and starting in an entry-level position at the Sheriff’s De-
Cowan Johnson named NC Poultry Federation president Johnson aims to address industry challenges and opportunities Duplin Journal staff THE NORTH CAROLINA poultry federation has named Cowan Johnson of House of Raeford Farms as their president for 2024-25. The announcement was recently made at the organization’s annual meeting in Greensboro. Johnson, a seasoned professional with 23 years of service at House of Raeford, a poultry business founded by his grandfather, has been a key figure in the company’s COURTESY HOUSE OF RAEFORD FARMS growth. “It is an honor to accept Cowan Johnson of House of Raeford Farms was recently named North Carolina Poultry See POULTRY, page A7 Federation president for 2024-25.
“I like to think that I put a staff in place that left the county in a better place than where we found it, at least financially.” Davis Brinson
partment,” said Brinson, who began his journey as a telecommunicator deputy sheriff in 1995. Brinson’s roots in local government run deep. His father, grandfather, and mother all played significant roles in government, setting a solid foundation for his civic journey. He worked as a social worker with DSS and a probation parole officer with the North Carolina Department of Corrections. In 2000, Brinson was elected Register See BRINSON, page A6