A berry good time!

1D
Beekeeper blues: Are
honeybees dying out?
Animal control ordinance spells
out owners’ responsibilities
duplin
Vol. 75, Issue 20
times
Noel Smith
chooses dance
over degree
8A
North Duplin High
School senior Noel
Smith is following her
heart to join a prestigious national Christian
dance company. Please
see page 1C.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Beulaville • Calypso • Faison • Kenansville • Magnolia • Richlands • Rose Hill • Wallace • Warsaw & More
School nixes prom date; mom says decision arbitrary
No written policy provided; prom committee advisors get to decide dates’ fates
Trevor Normile
Staff writer
BEULAVILLE — In a letter-to-the-editor, printed in this
week’s Opinion Section of the
Duplin Times, a mother in the
East Duplin High School district says her son was unfairly
blackballed from attending the
school’s junior-senior prom,
which is this weekend.
Suzie Baker’s son, Cale, is
a 2012 graduate of the school.
He was planning to attend the
event with the female student of
the school who had invited him.
His mother wrote that he was
denied a ticket even though she
says he’s never been in serious
trouble with the law.
School policy gives the
school discretion in approving
non-students who are invited to
the prom.
Suzie Baker’s letter is
published on page 7A
today.
ball games. Other than a couple
traffic tickets, he has never been
in trouble with the law either,”
Ms. Baker wrote in the letter.
Baker went on to write that
she was told that a “prom committee” was responsible for deciding whether her son, who is
no longer a student at the school,
would be able to attend.
“He was allowed to go to
his junior and senior proms and
graduation without any problems. They certainly don’t have
a problem with taking his money
and allowing him on campus for Continued on page 2A
A berry good time!
Web photo
Wallace,
Pender Co.
reach ‘water’
agreement
Pender once again
to buy Wallace water
Duplin Times photo/Todd Wetherington
Andrew Lakis, Teach for America director of District and Community Partnerships, discusses the program’s mission
during an appearance before the Duplin
County Board of Education last week.
Duplin Schools to
hire TFA teachers
Todd Wetherington
Staff writer
KENANSVILLE — After several
weeks of debate on the matter, the Duplin
County Board of Education has approved
a
contract
with Teach for
“We’ve seen that
America (TFA),
there tends to
a
non-profit
be a correlation
o rg a n i z a t i o n
between students
whose mission
growing up in
is to eliminate
poverty and
educational
their academic
inequality by
outcomes.”
enlisting high—Andrew Lakis, TFA
achieving rerepresentative
cent
college
graduates
to
Continued on page 5A
County’s proposed
tax rate increase
cut to one cent
Anne Hunter
Staff writer
KENANSVILLE — Duplin County
Commissioners settled for a proposed onecent property tax increase in the budget so far
agreed upon, instead of the 2.5 cent increase
proposed earlier by the county manager.
That decision was made in a planned
fiscal year 2013-14 budget workshop session completed in two days last week by
the board.
Christy Johnson, Keri
Phaneuf, Tonya Patram and Kathy Hendrickson, members
of the Carolina Bar-BQue Beauties cooking team, pose for a
pre-cooking photo Friday night before the
Strawberry Festival’s
barbecue
cookoff.
Large crowds both Friday night and Saturday helped make the
third annual Carolina
Strawberry Festival a
memorable one.
Duplin Times photos/ Mike Station (top); Trevor Normile (bottom)
Record crowd jams downtown
Wallace for Strawberry Festival
Michael Staton
clement weather wouldn’t dare ruin the
Staff writer
festivities. And he proved prophetic.
WALLACE – Thunder rumbled
Farrior said the earlier attendance
around noontime Saturday and sprinkles estimates were prophetic as well. Town
began to fall at the 2013
Manager Matt LivingsCarolina
Strawberry
ton, chair of the festiThe two little girls
Festival in downtown
val’s planning commitreceiving crowns were
Wallace.
tee, had estimated up
Abbie Clare Smith,
The thousands of
to 20,000 could crowd
Mini Miss Strawberry,
people crowded into the
into the downtown over
and Jorja Wells, Little
downtown must have
the two-day festival. He
Miss Strawberry.
looked up at the sky and
looked to be fairly acdid some praying, for
curate, although no one
the threat vanished and
took a headcount.
the day went splendidly for festivalgoThe intersection of Main and Railers.
road streets was especially crowded
Behind the Main Street stage as little between noon and 3 p.m. as moms and
girls competed to become Mini Miss dads, grandparents and other relatives
and Little Miss Strawberry, Wallace
Mayor Charley Farrior joked that in- Continued on page 10A
Continued on page 5A
36 PAGES / 4 SECTIONS
Classified..................................... 7D
Editorial........................................6A
Mike Staton/The Situation............1C
Obituaries.....................................6C
Sports..................................... 1B-5B
Teresa Houston / 2¢ Worth...........9A
TV Schedule/Movie Review..... 8C-9C
CONTACT US:
Phone..................... (910) 296-0239
Subscribe............... (800) 849-6166
[email protected]
P.O. Box 69, Kenansville, NC 28349
http://theduplintimes.com
Michael Staton
Staff writer
WALLACE – Wallace city and Pender
County officials have come to an amicable
agreement that would see the county south
of Duplin County purchase 375,000 gallons a day, according to Wallace Mayor
Charley Farrior.
At the Thursday, May 9 regular council meeting, Wallace
Town Manager Matt
Livingston told councilmen he had inserted
Pender water funding
back into the town budget for next fiscal year
that begins July 1.
Except for water
needed to flush out water
Charley
lines, Pender County had
Farrior
stopped using treated water supplied by the town of Wallace in December once its new water treatment plant
was placed online in DecemThe 375,000ber 2012.
gallons-a-day
Before the
agreement
water treatment
between Pender
plant was comand Wallace
pleted, Pender
officials will
County
was
allow the town to
purchasing up
recover about half
to 1.2 million
gallons a day.
of the lost water
The
gallons
revenue – or
translated into
$250,000 a year.
about $480,000
annually in revenue for Wallace’s coffers.
Livingston estimates that the 375,000gallons-a-day agreement
between Pender and
Wallace officials will allow the town to recover
about half of the water
revenue – or $250,000 a
year.
Farrior says the water
rate structure for Pender
will remain the same as
George
before in the previous
Brown
water contract between
the two governments.
“This is a positive step,” Farrior said.
“Everyone seems to be on board. We are
appreciative of getting to this point, and
Continued on page 4A
Sniff this: Student brings uncle’s ashes to school
Todd Wetherington
Staff writer
KENANSVILLE — A potentially
alarming incident took a turn for the bizarre recently when a student at Kenansville Elementary brought a white substance
to school and encouraged his friends to
sniff it.
On Friday, May 3 a student at the school
diately confiscated the bottle and took it
and the student to the office. Several students were offered but only one admitted
to smelling it.
When authorities went to the student’s
showed a pill bottle filled with a powdery home to investigate, it was discovered that
substance to several other students and en- the substance was in fact the ashes of his
couraged them to sniff it. When a teacher
noticed the student’s behavior, she imme- Continued on page 5A
Several students were offered but
only one admitted to smelling it.
Former WRH Bulldog coach
Jack Holley dies Monday, 74
1B
‘To the Rescue’: New column touts
help for, stories about animals
duplin
Vol. 75, Issue 21
times
Historical
marker
honors
Dr. Herring
2D
Rose Hill honored
beloved educational
leader Dr. Dallas
Herring with the unveiling of a historical
marker in his honor.
Please see page 2A.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Beulaville • Calypso • Faison • Kenansville • Magnolia • Richlands • Rose Hill • Wallace • Warsaw & More
Sequester hit
Government cutbacks will impact Warsaw Veterans Day
Todd Wetherington
Staff writer
WARSAW — The oldest
consecutive Veterans Day celebration in the nation may look
quite a bit different this year as
the effects of the recent budget
sequestration
begin to make
themselves felt
among the nation’s military
branches.
Lori Smith,
Warsaw Chamber of Commerce execuLori Smith
tive director,
Duplin Times file photo
said Monday
that the town’s 2013 Veterans Military mobile hardware, soldiers and bands may be casualDay parade would be fortunate ties for Warsaw’s long-running Veterans Celebration this Noto receive any military support vember, because of cutbacks under the U.S. government’s
budget sequestration from the Congress and the President
this year.
“Unfortunately, due to gov- earlier this year.
ernment cut backs, we will not
see the military like we have in not be able to provide the pre- was a disappointment not just
the past,” said Smith.
for the town’s Veterans Day
parade flyover this year.
Smith said
• The 440th Committee, but for the military
she had alArmy band as well.
Lori Smith, Warsaw
readyreceived
“Camp Lejeune is still pendand represenChamber of Commerce
responses
tatives from ing.” said Smith. “The Coast
executive director, said
from some of
Fort Bragg, Guard out of Wilmington is still
the military
the 2013 Veterans
which normal- waiting to see if their new fiscal
that will not
ly
provides year will include extra funding
Day parade would be
be attending
rolling stock for such events.”
fortunate to receive any
the Saturday,
Smith said the Warsaw Vetand a color
military support this year.
November 9
guard, notified erans Day Committee recently
celebration
Smith that they voted to hire Wilmington pilot
due to the sequestration.
will not be able to participate.
• Pope Air Force Base will
Smith said the turn of events Continued on page 9A
Duplin Times photo/Michael Staton
The Boney Mill Pond could someday be used for cane fishing and
canoeing, says Wallace Town Manager Matt Livingston, shown in
photo.
Boney Mill
park is a go
State okays $940,000 grant to purchase
land for regional park in Wallace
Michael Staton
Staff writer
WALLACE – It’s official … the
word “proposed” can be deleted
from the phrase “Wallace’s proposed regional park.”
Town officials received word last
week that their
application for a
$940,000
N.C.
Parks and Recreation Trust Fund
(PARTF) grant has
been approved.
The
50/50
matching grant
will allow the
Matt
town to purchase
Livingston
more than 200
acres including
the historic Boney Mill land off
Southerland Drive between the
American Legion building and the
Tin City commercial district.
Wallace officials most likely will
need to take out a loan for $470,000
to pay for their share of funding.
Town Manager Matt Livings-
Once the layout is
finalized, it could take up
to 10 years before the
park is completed.
ton expects the land deal with the
present owners of the two parcels
of land to be closed sometime in
the fall.
Livingston added that the sale
will most likely be a bargain sale,
which occurs when a donor makes
an actual sale of property to charity in exchange for cash or an installment note, according to the
Planned Giving Design Center’s
website.
Before the closing, the state will
be doing an appraisal of the land to
be purchased for the regional park,
according to Livingston.
Livingston, Mayor Charley Farrior and Parks and Recreation Director David Bizzell were ecstatic
Continued on page 4A
Game-changer
Groundbreaking ceremony
held for new Richlands
area wastewater plant
Memorial Day observances set for Sunday, Monday
Anne Hunter
Staff writer
Military organizations,
towns, and others throughout Duplin County recognize the service of men and
women who served and sacrificed their lives serving in the
armed forces through ceremonies
and celebrations on Monday, May
27. These ceremonies will also
recognize the living individuals
who have served as well as those
continuing to serve on behalf of
the United States of America.
Listed below are the ceremonies and celebrations that have
been reported:
• Memorial Day Ceremony,
9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 26, flagpole at Faison Cemetery, East
Main St., Faison. Hosted by the
Cemetery Committee of the Town
of Faison.
• Mount Olive VFW Post
9959 and American Legion
Post 103 will host a Memorial
Service at 3 p.m., Sunday, May
26 at Maplewood Cemetery in
Continued on page 2A
Mount Olive.
Occupants saved from fiery
wreck by Good Samaritans
Trevor Normile
Staff writer
RICHLANDS — The ground
is broken for a new Onslow Water
and Sewer Authority (ONWASA)
wastewater treatment plant, to be
located near Mills Field Road just
outside Richlands.
The project, which is already
Paul Conner underway and expected to be online in 2014, is being funded by
grant and loan money from the United States Department of Agriculture, to the tune of $9.8 million
Trevor Normile
Staff writer
MAPLE
HILL
— An act of selfless
heroism played out
last Thursday on N.C.
50 just over the county
line near Maple Hill. A
head-on collision ocDonald
curred around 2 p.m.,
Watkins
but the quick response
of witnesses may have
saved the occupants’ lives.
According to North Carolina Highway Patrol, it appears that one vehicle,
traveling south and another, traveling
north, collided, spinning one around
leaving the other in a ditch, burning.
Continued on page 5A
Continued on page 10A
32 PAGES / 4 SECTIONS
Classified..................................... 5D
Debby in the Kitchen....................1C
Editorial........................................6A
Karen Scalf/Parent’s View.............9A
Obituaries.....................................6C
Sports..................................... 1B-3B
TV Schedule/Movie Review..... 8C-9C
CONTACT US:
Phone..................... (910) 296-0239
Subscribe............... (800) 849-6166
[email protected]
P.O. Box 69, Kenansville, NC 28349
http://theduplintimes.com
• American Legion Post
379 of Albertson will conduct a Memorial Day ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Monday,
May 27 at Oak Ridge Cemetery, N.C. 11, Pink Hill.
There will be special music
and the names of all the veterans
laid to rest in the cemetery will
be read. Past and present veterans
will be honored. All are invited
to attend.
• American Legion Post 156
of Wallace will conduct a Memorial Day ceremony at 10 a.m.,
Monday, May 27, inside Rockfish
“When it
finally blew
up, she
started
screaming...
I told her,
‘everyone
got out
alive, the
vehicle can
be replaced,
your life
can’t.’”
—Shane Davis
The car driven by Pin Hook resident Melissa Noble is engulfed in flames just seconds after good Samaritan onlookers helped the woman, her passengers and the other motorist out of their vehicles following a wreck on N.C. 50 last
Thursday.
Troopers search for truck involved in hit and run with bus
Todd Wetherington
Staff writer
WALLACE — Authorities
are looking for a tractor-trailer
driver involved in a hit and run
with a school bus near Wallace
last week.
Trooper J.D. Edwards of
the North Carolina Highway
Patrol said witnesses first re-
No one was hurt and there
was only minor damage to
the school bus.
ported a log truck hit a school
bus on Cypress Creek Road
outside of Wallace in Duplin
County around 4:45 p.m. on
Tuesday, May 14. However,
after reviewing video recorded
by the interior school bus camera, it was determined that the
18-wheeler that sideswiped the
bus’s mirror had a white trailer
and was not a log truck.
No one was hurt and there
was only minor damage to the
school bus.
According to Duplin County
Schools spokeswoman Dawn
Craft, two high school students
and the driver were on the bus
when it was sideswiped. They
were checked out by EMS and
did not require any treatment.
At press time, the Highway
Patrol was still searching for
the tractor-trailer driver.