VOLUME 8 ISSUE 45 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024
DUPLINJOURNAL.COM
Duplin Journal THE DUPLIN COUNTY EDITION OF THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ABBY CAVENAUGH | DUPLIN JOURNAL
Mt. Olive Pickle Drop rings in 2024 with style Mt. Olive Pickle Drop on New Year’s Eve brought children and adults alike for an evening of fun as they welcomed the new year. Not only do people attending the Mt. Olive Pickle Drop get free pickles and plenty of fun, they also can have their photo taken with Ollie Q Cumber, the Mt. Olive Pickle mascot. See story and more photos on page 12.
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BRIEF this week
Duplin employees plead for new jail
47 charges issued on NYE traffic check
Duplin Journal tours local detention center
Wallace The Wallace Police Department teamed up with area law enforcement agencies to conduct traffic checks on NC 41 on New Year’s Eve, resulting in 47 charges issued.
By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal
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Health Department receives 125K grant to support women’s health Kenansville A grant to support women’s health services will increase access to contraceptives and help improve maternal and infant health in Duplin communities according to the Health Department.
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Duplin receives grant for mobile event response unit Duplin County Emergency Management will soon have a Mobile Event Response Trailer to support traffic control events thanks to funding from the Homeland Security Grant Program in the amount of $21,500. The MERT unit contains equipment like barricades, cones and signs needed for traffic control.
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KENANSVILLE — The need for a new detention center to replace the deteriorating and severely overcrowded Duplin County Jail is a dire concern for Sheriff Stratton Stokes. The sentiment is shared not only among staff and local law enforcement, but also by other members of the community who are worried for the safety of the workers and inmates. On Dec. 15, the Duplin Journal visited the facility. The pace was busy as guards moved in and out through the narrow hallways of the bluewall interior. The sound of metal gates echoed throughout the tight space, as a guard brought in a male to a holding cell about the size of a bathroom. The cell was already occupied by three other inmates who had been sleeping there due to overcrowding. People sleeping on the floor throughout the jail’s different areas was a common sight. Right now, the jail is housing 22 inmates in other counties, and they are still over the 96-limit with 110 inmates at the facility. According to Sheriff Stokes, between 15 to 30 inmates are housed off-site at any given time with most be-
“It’s like you are fighting a no-winning battle in a sense because, you know, the courts bring them, probation brings them, deputies bring them, troopers bring them, and you have no room to put these people… and then you’ve got to send your workers back there to deal with them and they’re everywhere… They are laid out everywhere and you’ve got nowhere to put them and then you call other counties to try to get them moved, and they are fighting the same thing we are fighting, so sometimes they can’t even take them...” Lt. Denise Mitchell ing males, costing taxpayers $60 per day, per person. The cost goes up to $100 a day if it is a female inmate who needs See JAIL, page 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISA BROWN
Crews work at the Senior and Veteran Center site which is on track for completion in December 2024.
2024: the year ahead County management shares a glimpse into what’s coming up this year By Ena Sellers Duplin Journal KENANSVILLE – As 2024 rolls in, Duplin County is setting gears in motion preparing for growth. Carrie Shields, County assistant manager shared that a key focus for the county in 2024 will be infrastructure. “We really need to look at water and sewer infrastructures within our municipalities to make sure that we are prepared for current and future growth. The Town of Kenansville especially, that is where the growth is happening for government facilities,” said Shields, adding that Kenansville was awarded $8 mil-
lion from the state to improve their sewer infrastructure. “We will lock arms and partner with the Town of Kenansville and make sure that we’re all in lockstep to bring that to fruition,” she added. Shields shared that they also plan to focus on helping drive growth in other municipalities within the county. “Right now, for Duplin County, the Town of Wallace and the Town of Beulaville are the only towns that have available sewer capacity. So, we need to make sure that they continue to stay ahead of it,” she said, explaining the importance of it for a town’s growth. The Duplin Commons is seeing a lot of activity with crews working diligently on facilities that are scheduled to open this year. According to See 2024, page 2
Area students earn NC Teaching Fellows awards 130 students from around the state selected for program By Abby Cavenaugh Duplin Journal The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission announced in December that 130 students from across the state have been selected to receive North Carolina Teaching Fellows awards for the Class of 2024 during its early-decision window. The Teaching Fellows program is a competitive, merit-based forgivable loan program providing tuition as-
sistance of up to $10,000 per year for qualified students committed to teaching elementary education, special education, science, technology, engineering, or math in a North Carolina public school. The purpose of the program is to recruit, prepare and support future teachers who attend institutions of higher education in North Carolina. Duplin County area students selected to receive the awards in 2024 include: • Sarah Hall of Beulaville • Katie Dodson of Mount Olive • Nyla Polk of Turkey • Camilla Torres of Mount Olive
Those named as fellows may attend any of the program’s eight partner institutions, pending institutional admission: Elon University; Fayetteville State University; North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; NC State University; Meredith College; University of North Carolina at Charlotte; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The program will be expanding to include two additional institutions in Spring 2024. During the early-decision window, the commission received 221 completed and See AWARDS, page 6
“We are proud to offer Teaching Fellows awards to these deserving students during this inaugural earlydecision window.” Bennett Jones, director of the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program
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