VOLUME 9 ISSUE 35 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
PJ WARD-BROWN / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Getting out the vote Trump supporter Ed Wahnker signed the Team Trump Bus last Friday. Wahnker is one of many Trump supporters who gathered at the Wayne County Republican Party headquarters in Goldsboro for the multi-stop Bus Tour featuring surrogates including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Rep. Dan Bishop, economist Peter Navarro, former Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout, last Friday.
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BRIEF this week
Free over-the‑counter medicine for low‑income families Warsaw The Mobile Free Pharmacy will provide low-income families with free over‑the‑counter medicine on Dec. 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kenansville Eastern Missionary Baptist Association located at 124 Water Tank Road in Warsaw. Participants may receive medicine for pain relief, cold and cough, allergies, digestion and vitamins. Children’s medicines will also be available. For questions, contact Anita Boswell‑Russell at aboswellrussell@ medassist.org.
The town of Magnolia seeks residents’ feedback on land-use plan survey Magnolia The Town of Magnolia is asking residents to fill out the town’s land-use plan community survey to help them gather your input on how the town should manage future growth and development in Magnolia. “The preferences expressed by respondents to this survey will be considered by Town staff and advisory boards in developing the town’s landuse plan,” stated the town’s social media announcement, asking residents to take the 10-minute survey, which is available on the town’s Facebook page. A hard copy of the survey is available at Magnolia Town Hall.
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Warsaw’s overburdened wastewater treatment plant faces hefty fines The facility received more than $33K in civil penalties this year By Ena Sellers Dupling Journal
ceived a notice of violation for exceeding the levels of Coliform, Fecal MF, and MFC Broth, more than three times the limit in June. In May, the town had to pay a fine of $12,323.51 for violations in February, and in April, a $20,920 fine for 14 violations in January. According to the May civil penalty assessment, while it is understood that costs were incurred to resolve the upset impacts caused at the WWTP since 2023, “it seems that actions may have been delayed by the possible continued use of disinfectant agents at a nearby production facility that impacted wastewater treatment operations.” The assessment notes that the WWTP facility has a concerning track record with three previous enforcement actions for some of the same parameters in the preceding 12-month period. In April, the assessment noted that while the Wilmington Regional Office was notified,
WARSAW’S overburdened astewater treatment plant has been a significant topic of concern for area residents and leadership. According to Warsaw Mayor A.J. Connors, the town needs approximately $44 million to expand the wastewater treatment plant infrastructure needed to keep up with the town’s growth. The WWTP provides treatment for a service population of approximately 3,120 people. The facility discharges wastewater to Stewarts Creek in the Cape Fear River Cape Fear River subbasin. This year, the town was fined $33,243.51 for violating discharge limitations and monitoring requirements set by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Last month, the town re- See WARSAW, page A3
Wolf talks about working in Trump Administration The former acting secretary of Homeland Security rode the GOP bus tour By Shawn Krest Duplin Journal
GOLDSBORO — Chad Wolf remembers a night from late 2019, when he was acting secretary of Homeland Security under then-president Donald Trump. When he took the job, advi- See WOLF, page A3
Rose Hill applies for CDBG neighborhood revitalization grant If approved, four houses will be demolished and reconstructed By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal ROSE HILL — During a special meeting on Oct. 15, the Rose Hill Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution for the town to apply for a community development block grant for neighborhood revitalization from the NC Department of Commerce. The grant totals $950,000, of which $95,000 would go to administrative costs, leaving $855,000 for the renovation or reconstruction of four homes within the town. In Rose Hill’s case, all four applicants and one alternate are reconstruction projects, meaning their homes will be torn down and reconstructed. In order to be approved for CDBG-NR funding, the homeowners in question must be at 80% or below the county’s median income.
“Severe systems means that it could be a faulty electrical system, it could include uneven floors, holes in the floor. We tallied a number of those severe systems … there’s a severe need.” Kevin Amory, Insight Planning and Development Kevin Amory with Insight Planning and Development, who’s assisting the town with the process, said 16 total applications were received, with four of those chosen, plus one alternate. “So when we reconstruct the house, we try to give them a similar house, the same size house,” Amory explained to the town board. “If somebody’s got a two-bedroom, we rebuild them a See ROSE HILL, page A2
sors warned Wolf about Trump’s energy level and the workload he’d be taking on in the job. “I’m a little bit younger than he is,” the 48-year-old former college tennis player recalled thinking. “So, when I got there, I was like, ‘I can keep up with it. I’ve heard this before. I got it. I got this.’” “I was worn out,” he said with a laugh. ”So, there’s one night where it had been a couple hard weeks in a row. I look
Chad Wolf speaks at the Wayne County Republican Party offices in Goldsboro last Friday.
PJ WARD-BROWN / DUPLIN JOURNAL