VOLUME 9 ISSUE 6 | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
the
BRIEF this week
State Board of Elections appoints Michael Edward Lynch Duplin County The State Board of Elections recently announced Michael Edward Lynch of Duplin County was appointed as one of four Democratic members of county Boards of Elections. DJS
First responders’ swift action saves man’s life at local Walgreens ENA SELLERS / DUPLIN JOURNAL
Wallace Last week, Wallace Police officers who responded to a call for help at the local Walgreens, helped save a man’s life thanks to their prompt action providing CPR and deploying the department’s automated external defibrillator on the patient who was not breathing. According to WPD officials, EMS arrived shortly after, finding the man breathing independently. The patient became unresponsive again and a second shock was administered, after resuming CPR. ”The subject’s pulse returned, and he was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.” DJS
Little Free Library coming soon to Jimmy Jerome Park Rose Hill Duplin County Partnership for Children recently announced that they will soon have a Little Free Library at Jimmy Jerome Park in Rose Hill. Through the Little Free Library children can share free books. DJS
Former Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy faces 40 years in jail Wayne County According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina, Michael Kenneth Cox, a former Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy, pled guilty to two federal charges related to his role in drug trafficking and procurement fraud conspiracies in connection with contracts his business received from WCSO.
Duplin Grows
Second-grade students from elementary schools across Duplin County visited the Duplin Events Center on March 26-27 to participate in Duplin Grows. The two-day event featured 12 informational and hands-on interactive sessions where children learned about agriculture. For the story and photos turn to page 6.
Bestselling novelist visits Duplin County Library Etaf Rum is the author of the New York Times best-selling novel “A Woman is No Man” By Curt Simpson Special to the Duplin Journal KENANSVILLE — “I was born without a voice, one cold, overcast day in Brooklyn, New York. No one ever spoke of my condition. I did not know I was mute until years later, when I opened my mouth to ask for what I wanted and realized no one could hear me.” So reads the first lines of Etaf Rum’s New York Times best-sell-
ing novel “A Woman is No Man.” At the invitation of the Duplin County Library, Rum brought her newly found voice to the Ed Emory Auditorium at Duplin Commons in Kenansville on March 27 to address readers and discuss her writing and her desire to give voices to the voiceless. Though her book is a work of fiction, it is “heavily influenced” by Rum’s life, she said. Much like her main character Deya, Rum is Palestinian and grew up sheltered as the eldest of nine children in a conservative Arab home in Brooklyn, NY. She attended an all girls Muslim school. As a child, she said she
CURT SIMPSON FOR DUPLIN JOURNAL
Novelist Etaf Rum answers a question about writing from Duplin County Library Director Laura Jones on March 27 in Kenansville. often wanted to do things that boys were doing, like participating in sports, having independence and going to college, however her grandmother forbade it,
‘Growing State, Shrinking Farmland’ American Farmland Trust experts talk about agriculture By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal CARY — Last week regional and state agricultural leaders gathered for NC Ag Leads: Imagine Agriculture Day at the SAS campus in Cary, NC, to talk about agriculture, challenges and how to move the industry forward. Cris Coffin, National Ag Land Network Director and Senior Policy Advisor and Dr. Courtney Owens, Southeast Regional Director, both with American
Farmland Trust were among the speakers who engaged participants in a thought-provoking conversation about the shrinking agricultural land base in North Carolina. “We are doing a lot more work in the regenerative agriculture space and keeping farmers on the land because we understand that there is no farmland without farmers,” said Coffin. “We really believe that farmers and ranchers want to do right by their land and their businesses and that we just need to be helping to encourage and facilitate and support their work.” Coffin shared that every state in the U.S. is losing farmland. “We need to do something
71% 71% of Duplin County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best land according to the business-as-usual scenario. about it… let’s focus on building that capacity of folks around the country to be able to save land,” See IMAGINE AG, page 5
DJS
Town of Magnolia to get Lead for NC fellow The fellowship in local government provides a win-win for municipalities and college graduates By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal THE TOWN of Magnolia was recently selected for a Lead for North Carolina grant through the School of Government. According to Magnolia Town Manager Charles “Twig” Rollins, Magnolia was selected from a pool of 100 other local government applicants. This fellowship in local government will provide the town with the opportunity to work hand in hand with a recent
“It’ll be the first one ever in Duplin County. It allows me basically to have a special assistant who is college educated, who has a keen interest in going into government, and I can put them on special projects.” Charles “Twig” Rollins, Magnolia Town Manager college graduate from the cohort of Lead for North Carolina Fellows. “It’ll be the first one ever
in Duplin County,” said Rollins excitedly. “It allows me basically to have a special assistant who is college educated, who has a keen interest in going into government, and I can put them on special projects.” The town manager explained that this was mutually beneficial for the town and the fellow, who will be working with them for a year. Rollins said they want to make sure they take advantage of applying for every grant they can, and the fellow can help them do that, as well as help in other areas. “One of the key areas I want to work on with the person See FELLOW, page 12
saying over and over: “A woman is no man.” See AUTHOR, page 3
Three-car crash on I-40 causes traffic delays An accident is under investigation after a driver allegedly caused a wreck using the grass area to pass another car Duplin Journal Staff A THREE-CAR accident that occurred last Thursday, on Interstate 40 near mile-marker 368 resulted in several people injured and traffic backed up for miles. “The white truck proceeded to drive in the grass area of the side of the road on I-40 because everyone was going [too] slow for him. As he went to get back on the road in front of the black jeep he lost control and hit the jeep,” Jameeka Tatum told the Duplin Journal. Tatum added that the white truck also hit her vehicle flipping her and her two children four times. “My 2 year old and 8 month old, we [were] in the Ford Ranger.” The North Carolina State Highway Patrol Kenansville office were not able to comment as they were waiting for the report. First responders said minor injuries were reported.
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