Wayne Week — Feb. 11, 2024

N E W OL D NORT H M E DI A PR E SE N T S A W E E K LY N E WS M AG A Z I N E

F E BU R A RY 11, 2 024

N E WOL DNORT H .C OM

Wayne

WEEK

Their Sweet Success

Debi and Dub Newton measure their business’ victories in memories made and relived inside their not-so-quiet Goldsboro cafe.

by KEN FINE / p.18

BREAKING

NEWS

4th FW Commander confirms pending loss of 333rd Fighter Squadron. p. 14

ELECTION 2024

As Primary Election Day approaches, Board of Commissioners hopefuls speak out / p. 6

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. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

FEBURARY 11, 2024 Volume 1, Issue 26

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CONTENTS 4 School Board sees first semester test scores

Wayne County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard said it would be unfair to judge schools’ performances until honors students have a chance to boost proficiency percentages this spring.

6 Primary Election Day is only a few weeks away

The men and women hoping to make the November ballot in Wayne County Board of Commissioners races tell their stories and talk about their vision for the districts they believe they should represent for the next four years.

16 Our take

Just because there are still hundreds of students who will take end-of-grade tests in a few months does not mean we should ignore the fact that, at most Wayne County schools, the majority of the hundreds who have already completed the exams failed to earn “proficient” status.

18 Cover story

Dub and Debi Newton, an unlikely couple, are enjoying the success of what was supposed to be a “quiet” little coffee shop where they could spend their retirement years but turned into a sensation for Cafe Le Doux’s loyal fanbase.

OFFICE 219 N. John Street Goldsboro, N.C. 27530 919-648-9905 © 2024 NEW OLD NORTH MEDIA LLC All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without permission.

COVER: PHOTO BY CASEY MOZINGO

newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 3

NEWS +VIEWS School Board sees first semester test scores Wayne County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard said it would be unfair to judge schools’ performances until honors students have a chance to boost proficiency percentages this spring.

A

s Wayne County Public Schools navigates its “Low-Performing District” designation from the state, members of the Wayne County Board of Education got a sneak peak of how the district’s high schools are faring on the tests officials will use, in part, to determine the letter grades that will appear on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s 2023-24 “report cards.”

But Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard said the fall semester numbers are not necessarily indicative of how individual schools will ultimately fare because in some cases, honors students are currently enrolled in Biology, English 2, Math 1, and Math 3, and could have a positive impact on the proficiency percentages shared with the board Monday when they test later this spring.

“If you have a small school, for example, and you have an honors section this semester and then next semester, you have an academic section, the numbers are not congruent in terms of the outcome,” he said. “So, just, the main point with the data you’ll see back is it’s really tomatoes/potatoes … in terms of the congruence of the data.”

In other words, Whichard argued comparing the overall proficiency data from the first semester — which, in most cases, are below the final 2022-23 percentages — to the scores that helped land WCPS in the “Low-Performing District” bucket would not, at this point, be fair.

Here is a snapshot of what the data shows: • Of the nearly 700 students who took the state’s Biology final exam, only 286 — 42 percent — demonstrated proficiency.

• Five of the district’s 10 high schools reported fewer than 30-percent proficiency on the Biology exam.

• Of the nearly 650 students who took the state’s English 2 final exam, only 278 — 43 percent — demonstrated proficiency.

• Of the 62 students at Goldsboro High School who took the English 2 exam, only 6 demonstrated proficiency.

• Of the nine high schools that reported English 2 scores, six reported at or below 45-percent proficiency.

• Of the nine high schools that reported Math 3 scores, six reported at or below 40-percent proficiency.

• Of the 243 students from Goldsboro High School, Eastern Wayne, and Southern Wayne who took the Math 3 exam, only 44 demonstrated proficiency.

• Wayne Academy reported scores in Biology, English 2, and Math 3 and zero students demonstrated proficiency on any of the exams. — Ken Fine

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The following data reflects first semester test scores in the courses used by the state on School Report Cards as part of its determination regarding whether individual schools fail to meet, meet, or exceed growth. Those courses include Biology, English 2, Math 1 and Math 3:

BIOLOGY

TOTAL TESTED

TOTAL PROFICIENT

Charles B. Aycock High School Eastern Wayne High School Goldsboro High School Rosewood High School Southern Wayne High School Spring Creek High School Wayne Academy Wayne Early/Middle College High School Wayne School of Technical Arts Wayne School of Engineering

138 108 34 47 128 99 6 30 37 60

70 (51%) 30 (19%) 7 (21%) 24 (51%) 36 (28%) 28 (28%) 0 (0%) 22 (73%) 33 (89%) 46 (77%)

DISTRICT TOTAL

687

286 (42%)

Charles B. Aycock High School Eastern Wayne High School Goldsboro High School Rosewood High School Southern Wayne High School Spring Creek High School Wayne Academy Wayne Early/Middle College High School Wayne School of Engineering

163 107 62 58 139 21 5 29 60

66 (40%) 41 (38%) 6 (10%) 26 (45%) 45 (32%) 18 (86%) 0 (0%) 21 (72%) 55 (92%)

DISTRICT TOTAL

644

278 (43%)

54 66 24

24 (44%) 19 (29%) 23 (96%)

ENGLISH 2

MATH 1

Eastern Wayne High School Southern Wayne High School Spring Creek High School

DISTRICT TOTAL 144 66 (46%) Note: The vast majority of Wayne County Public Schools Math 1 students have not taken their state test yet.

MATH 3

Charles B. Aycock High School Eastern Wayne High School Goldsboro High School Rosewood High School Southern Wayne High School Spring Creek High School Wayne Academy Wayne Early/Middle College High School Wayne School of Technical Arts

102 80 67 55 96 120 3 10 25

67 (66%) 12 (15%) 20 (30%) 15 (27%) 12 (13%) 48 (40%) 0 (0%) 9 (90%) 18 (72%)

DISTRICT TOTAL

560

201 (36%)

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. Wayne WEEK . 5

ELECTION

I

t is almost time to make your voice heard again.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will introduce you to some of the men and women who are asking for your vote in the upcoming Primary Election.

In this week’s edition, you will meet the candidates who want to represent their parties in Wayne County Board of Commissioners races. Then, in the coming weeks, we will pose questions to candidates for District Court judge as well as the Wayne County Board of Education.

In some cases, this primary will be their only battle, as some of the candidates who win the primary will run unopposed this November.

So, your vote on March 5 is particularly important.

You could be deciding right now who will represent your county or school district or who will sit on the bench.

And as we have said many, many times before, whom you pick really does matter — and your vote really does count.

Keep in mind that some of the critical City Council races from the 2023 election were decided by less than 50 votes. One was less than 10.

So, if you sat out in November, it made an impact.

This year, three county commission seats are on the ballot, and incumbents Antonio Williams, Freeman Hardison, and Joe Daughtery all are facing primary challengers in newcomers Tondalayo Clark, Tim Harrell, and Craig Uzzell, respectively.

The questions we are asking them range from why they want to serve, what qualifications make them a good choice, and what their priorities will be for the county in the coming years.

And we even touched on some of the claims being made about them — special questions that readers have asked us to pose.

The fact that five of the six candidates responded to our request shows that they are committed to the transparency necessary to be a community leader.

The one who did not is sending you a message, too.

So, keep that in mind March 5.

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. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

ELECTION 2024 DISTRICT 2 ELECTION

Tondalayo Clark "I absolutely feel that I'm inspiring my students, but my students have inspired me as well."

D

uring more than two decades as a Wayne County educator, Tondalayo Clark has emphasized, to the hundreds and hundreds of students she has taught from Dillard Middle School to Goldsboro High, the importance of using their voices to change their community.

She has compelled them to write letters to the people who represent them — to lay out concerns about everything from the conditions of their schools and absence of reliable transportation to campus to health care inequality and food insecurity.

But teaching the next generation to stand up for itself only works when those doing the teaching lead by example, Clark said.

So, she, too has joined the fight over the last two decades — filing complaints with OSHA over the conditions of the facilities she has worked in, writing letters to the Wayne County Board of Education demanding action, and sending her thoughts all the way to the White House.

“Then, my students have done the same thing,” she said.

But nobody, she added, ever responds.

And that is among the reasons Clark is running for a seat on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.

“Nothing has changed,” she said. “Nothing has changed in Wayne County, and nothing has changed in District 2.”

And change, she added, only comes when people with courage stand up and commit to serving their community — another lesson she shares with her students.

“I absolutely feel that I’m inspiring my students, but my students have inspired me as well,” Clark said. “I want them to do better and I want them to see they can achieve the same thing.”

Her parents instilled that same message in her when she was a little girl.

But to them, service was about something simple, a quality she said she feels she can bring to the Board of Commissioners.

“It’s about caring,” Clark said.

So, she will take her many fights with her to the Wayne County Courthouse should she make it past the upcoming Primary Election and then, take home the most votes in November — serving as a champion for schoolchildren, the elderly, and those without access to quality health care.

And, as a mother and a woman of color, she will seek to inspire the next generation of leaders to fight for a seat at the table.

“As a woman of color, or as a representative, I’m working for the people,” she said. “And for the people, there has to be representation.”

But she knows the road won’t be easy — that taking on an incumbent within her own party might set her up for the political attacks that are all too often a part of the process.

So, as she navigates that path, she will hold true to her mantra of making “positive change that will affect the people in a positive way.”

She will argue for increasing teacher supplements and making improvements to inner-city public school facilities.

She will talk about how there is “not enough support for the elderly” and how in certain neighborhoods, residents don’t have access to quality health care and nutritious food.

And as she does so, she will carry with her the hundreds and hundreds of young people she has guided as a teacher and mentor — knowing that they are cheering her on as she attempts to prove to them that anything, even a seat on the county governing board, is possible.

“My students, they would say that Miss Clark is there for us. She showed us how to write letters. She taught us about laws, rules and regulations, and about our rights,” she said. “They would say, ‘She gave us courage.’”

Courage she, too, says she possesses, because of qualities she is certain make her the best person in District 2 for the job at hand.

“People should vote for me because of my leadership capabilities to teach and uplift individuals,” Clark said. “I will work on behalf of the people who are disenfranchised.” n

Antonio Williams Incumbent District 2 Wayne County Commissioner Antonio Williams ignored a message sent to his government email address requesting an interview for our Primary Election package — and was the only candidate Wayne Week was not given the opportunity to question.

Had he accepted our invitation to have a conversation, we would have given him a chance to tell his story and unwrap for voters why he feels they should push him past challenger Tondalayo Clark so he can fight for four more years on the Board of Commissioners.

We would have asked him to identify what, if any, successes he has been a part of since he joined the board and what his priorities would be should he secure another term.

We would have allowed him to respond to claims from his Primary opponent that he ignores the concerns of his constituents, including schoolchildren who have allegedly sent him letters regarding what they see as inequalities in the public schools they attend and the neighborhoods in which they live.

We would have questioned him about the lawsuit he filed — and is currently engaged in — against the city of Goldsboro for, among other things, what he characterized as unfair treatment.

And we would have, again, given him a chance to defend the alleged findings documented by the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor in a preliminary report sent to City Hall in early January — most notably, claims that he took a trip to Los Angeles, California, on a city credit card that raised red flags with auditors because of a lack of documentation required to justify the expenditure as a “valid” city expense.

We also would have asked about another one of the auditors’ findings — that Williams allegedly racked up a hefty water bill and had a delinquent account that should have been cut off twice during his tenure on the City Council for more than three years of non-payment, but remained active, sending a message, auditors said, that elected officials and city employees were given what could be perceived as “preferential treatment” that had the potential to “erode” the public’s trust in its local government.

Should Williams, in the future, agree to sit down for a candid interview, we will share his answers to both the above and many other questions we have for him in a future edition of Wayne Week.

newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 7

ELECTION 2024 DISTRICT 4 ELECTION

I

ncumbent Freeman Hardison is running his first full campaign to serve on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.

Appointed to take the seat vacated by Joe Gurley, who passed away in 2020, Hardison has experience as a commissioner, but not as a candidate.

But the same reasons, he said, that he accepted the appointment to sit on the board are why he wants to continue serving.

Running, he said, is about making his community a better place to live — and there is more work to do.

“We have made some great strides,” Hardison said. “I want to see it through.”

Among those accomplishments is the commission’s work to improve infrastructure, especially sewer service around the area, he added, noting that planning, as well as concentrated efforts to make the county more attractive for economic development, are giving Wayne County the push it needs to capture the interest of potential investors and residents.

“We have a board that is foresighted,” he said. “They are looking at economic development in a different way. They are looking long range.”

The commissioners — both past and present — have put the county in this position because of responsible use of tax dollars and looking for ways to improve the county’s coffers without increasing the burden on taxpayers.

“We are doing some things that are making it so we are ahead of other counties,” Hardison said. “Both Democrats and Republicans, we are looking to save money and to move our community forward. We are at the point where our finances are in great shape and we can do some things with them. We have been conservative in our spending for a long time, and it is paying off.”

But there is an area that Hardison said needs the county’s immediate attention — its schools.

“I don’t see any improvement there,” he said. “I want to work together (with the Board of Education) to see if we can get something done.”

And he does not mean money.

“We cannot keep throwing money at the problem,” Hardison said. “It is not working.”

Wayne County taxpayers cannot afford large tax increases, he added, because while 8

. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

Freeman Hardison

"We have made some great strides. I want to see it through. "

they might have seen pay raises in the last 12 months, the iron grip of inflation has many families struggling to make ends meet.

And every grant — every expenditure — ultimately comes out of the taxpayers’ pockets.

“That is their tax money that is paying for those improvements,” he said. “We have to be respectful of that.”

But addressing the schools’ issues, he said, is something that cannot wait, especially as the county looks at the future of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, which Hardison said is a critical part of the county’s economy.

He said he feels that the commission is on top of making sure Air Force officials know that the base and its personnel are an important and welcome part of the community.

“I don’t think there is a problem with the

base,” Hardison said. “We have done what we need to do. The final decision is whatever they are going to do, but until we hear it, we need to keep the pedal to the metal. Without the base, there goes Wayne County.”

So, focus needs to be put, now, on WCPS. And while Hardison said the school district seems to be in good financial shape currently, he wonders what would have happened if there had been no COVID funds.

That is why he and his fellow commissioners want to hear more than just assurances from WCPS and School Board personnel that the district’s financial woes are behind them.

“You don’t really see an actual plan,” he said.

And when the first word of the district’s $5 million deficit hit, and school officials approached the county for help to bridge the

gap, Hardison said the commission offered a no-interest loan, only asking for oversight into how the money would be spent.

“And what did they do?” he asked.

“They borrowed from somewhere else. No improvement was made to the schools.

The number of low-performing schools has doubled. And then they came back and asked for more money.”

Hardison said he believes that the district’s claim that more money is needed to attract teachers is a “red herring” — that there is more wrong than simply a paycheck difference or a lack of support for local teacher supplements.

And if he is re-elected, he wants to form a coalition to get to the bottom of the real problem.

“Let’s find out what the problems are and then work together to solve them,” he said.

“No one on the board would be against giving the schools more money if we could see how it was being spent.”

Hardison credits his success and dedication to service to his grandfather, “who gave me a sense of morals and values.”

His grandfather, he said, who was one of the county’s few independent farmers, also instilled in him the skills he used first as a chemist and businessman and now as a commissioner.

“He told me that you do not have to like everyone, but that you have to respect everyone,” Hardison said.

He said he will use those skills to try to broker a solution to the school district issue and to further another of his passions, improving mental health services for Wayne County families.

His service on the local hospital board, Hardison added, has made him understand just how important access to health care is — not just when trying to attract business development, but also to improve the quality of life for residents.

“As a commissioner, all I can do is to bring the problem of a lack of access to care to light,” he said. “And I am dedicated to that effort.”

Hardison, who is retired, said he has the time to dedicate to the commission seat, adding that he is ready to serve the residents of Wayne County.

“I feel God has been good to me,” he said.

“And I want to give back.” n

ELECTION 2024 DISTRICT 4 ELECTION

T

im Harrell has been in the trenches of public education for 27 years.

He knows the nooks and crannies of the county, he knows the people, and he is active in the community.

And he is busy.

Harrell said he knows that his job as an assistant superintendent with Wayne County Public Schools is a big responsibility and that there are plenty of reasons why he should wait to run for a seat on the Board of Commissioners.

But he feels that now, as he gets close to the end of his career in public education, that he could take on a new mission.

And after talking with friends and family, and praying about it, he said he is ready to follow the dream that has been two to three years in the making.

“This is an opportunity to continue to serve the community,” he said. “People know me, and they know my family. This is the right time. Everything has lined up.”

He knows that it will not be easy — and means no disrespect to the incumbent commissioners — but Harrell said he wants to be part of directing the future of his community.

It is a calling of sorts, he said, for a man who has a deep faith and a strong commitment to the county that has been, and will be, his home all his life.

Harrell said he did not make the decision lightly — that he understands how much of an honor it is to serve.

And he wants to emphasize, he decided to take on the challenge on his own.

“No school board member has encouraged me to run, and no one from the administration has influenced me either,” Harrell said.

He said he researched the board policy on holding public office and understands that he will have to take leave to attend meetings, which are held on Tuesday mornings.

And he added that he will not be the first school employee to hold a county commission seat. Dr. Sandra McCullen, a former curriculum director for the district, served as a commissioner while she was employed by WCPS. “I kept my decision to run to myself until it was time to file,” he said. “I am not a politician — although I am learning a lot about how politics works. I just want to serve. I just want to help.”

Harrell said his work with the school district has given him a unique perspective.

He can shed some light on how the schools operate, offering a perspective on everything

Tim Harrell

"If I have one fear, it is letting people down. ... I want to be a commissioner that the community is proud of. "

from school construction and funding to the millions of dollars in federal and state funds that must be managed each year. He also understands the important role teacher supplements and non-classified salaries play in attracting and keeping personnel.

It is a subject he feels strongly about. And he thinks the county can do better.

“When you look at the funding effort the county has made over the years, well, you get what you pay for,” he said.

Surrounding districts with more local investment have been able to succeed at a higher level because of that financial support, Harrell said.

“Local appropriations are just not keeping up here,” he said.

But he also understands that the schools have a responsibility, too.

While he worked in career and technical education in Johnston County, Harrell said

he attended a seminar in Raleigh where major employers talked about how they made their decisions about where they will locate.

First on the checklist was the schools, Harrell said.

“I had an ‘aha’ moment,” he said. “I realized we were truly connected (schools and economic development). So, we need good schools, and we need to work together to create them.”

Harrell also knows the county, he said, through his work with WCPS. “I know every part of this county and I have built relationships with people from all over,” Harrell said.

And while he is not seeking office to fight battles for the school district, he said he hopes his years in public education will offer a perspective that will help the county formulate a way to responsibly support the schools while still keeping balanced

budgets and taxpayers’ pocketbooks in mind.

It is something he learned over the years from his mentors.

“You have to have a system perspective,” he said.

That means one part of the county’s budget cannot be the only consideration when forming policy or making plans.

And he is prepared to look at the issues that face Wayne County with that same mindset.

He understands that some of those decisions might not be what his employers would prefer.

“I want to do what is best for the county of Wayne,” he said. “Yes, I am going to advocate for the children of Wayne County. I have done that for 27 years. I hope I can bring some insight into how the school system runs, but I also hope to learn from the other commissioners, too.”

That means Harrell is as prepared to listen and to learn as he is to advocate for what he believes is the right path.

“I can promise to be firm, fair and consistent,” he said. “And to make the right decisions to the best of my ability and to be able to explain them.”

And, most importantly, Harrell said he will be a voice for the people of District 4.

“Having a commissioner who is present and known in the community is important,” he said. “People need to feel like they have someone who they can talk to and who will take their concerns to the county. I want to be that person.”

Harrell said he also is concerned about improving infrastructure, including making sure that all parts of the county have access to high-speed internet — a deficit he learned about as he and other members of the school district’s leadership team tried to manage online instruction during COVID. Harrell said he has no plans on retiring at this point, but he is determined about one very important goal.

He will give his commission seat everything he has got.

“I do not want to be a half commissioner and a half school employee,” he said. “If I have one fear, it is letting people down. I want to be successful for myself and the community. I want to be a commissioner that the community is proud of. And I will work hard to make sure I live up to that promise.” n newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 9

ELECTION 2024 DISTRICT 6 ELECTION

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raig Uzzell did not just wake up one day and decide this was the year to seek a seat on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.

He has been thinking about it for a long time.

“I have always wanted to run,” he said.

“I just wanted to wait until I was more knowledgeable and had something more to contribute.”

And now, after more than three decades as a coach, principal, assistant principal and, most recently, an operations coordinator for Wayne County Public Schools, Uzzell has decided it's time.

It is all about, he said, serving the community and making it a better place not only for residents, small business owners, and taxpayers like him, but also for the next generation.

Still, he was a little nervous when he first decided to announce his candidacy.

“I am not ready to retire yet,” he said.

So, he checked with Dr. Marc Whichard, WCPS’ superintendent, to make sure he could run for the county commission seat and still keep his job.

The answer was, “yes,” he said.

But Uzzell said that doesn’t mean he will be a “plant” on the commission to do the bidding of the district or school board.

“People said Dr. Whichard talked me into running,” he said. “But that’s not true.

I wanted to make sure there were no rules about my doing both, but I still have more to contribute to the schools, and I think I can help the county.”

He said he has seen firsthand what is going on in the county’s schools and thinks he can offer some insight to those who might not understand the workings or the challenges that WCPS is facing.

And one of the most pressing of those issues is attracting and keeping teachers.

In fact, the problem is so severe, Uzzell said, that the district is having to look at alternative options — like online instruction.

“Our supplement is so low, it is just so hard to get teachers,” he said.

So, schools and students hit hard by the pandemic are finding it harder and harder to get the resources they need to build back.

“During COVID, we got so far behind, it has been a challenge to catch up,” he said.

And the school personnel shortage doesn’t end there, Uzzell said.

“It is hard to get custodians, too,” he said.

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Craig Uzzell

"I want my daughter to come back here.

To do that, I have to make sure she has a strong county to come home to. "

“Nobody wants to work anymore.”

Like it or not, he said, creating better schools is going to take an investment — and looking hard at what it will take to achieve results.

“It all comes down to what we need to educate our children,” he said. “That is what this is all about.”

But even though he has insight into what it might take to help rebuild WCPS, Uzzell says he is not seeking office to argue the case for the schools with no accountability for mistakes that might have been made in the past.

He is, first and foremost, like everyone else he would be representing, a Wayne County citizen who wants to ensure he has a strong county to leave to his children and grandchildren.

“I don’t have all the answers,” he said. “But

I am a businessowner and taxpayer. I want to make sure our money is spent wisely. I pay property taxes, too. It all affects me.”

And he knows just how important it is to continue to have a strong relationship with Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

“I own rental properties,” Uzzell said. “If anything ever happened to the base, a lot of us would really feel it.”

So, he is ready to look hard at the factors that influence whether SJAFB stays and whether business and industry continue to invest in Wayne County.

“It all comes back to the schools,” he said.

“A strong school system is better for the community and better for the military.”

And Uzzell said he understands that while he has information and insight he feels will

help the county work with the school district to make a plan to set the schools right, he might also have to make some tough decisions — decisions he is prepared to defend even if they are at odds with the district.

“It will not bother me,” he said. “I have the years in that I need to retire, but I am not sure I am ready to do that yet. I still think I can make a difference. I see waste in the school system and areas that can be improved, but I also know what affects (the school district’s) ability to get the improvements we need.”

Communication is critical, Uzzell said, and has been absent — or politicized — for many years.

“It has always been like that,” he said. “And I have seen it much worse.”

But if Wayne County is going to move forward, he said, it needs new ideas, new players, and new, positive relationships — and leaders who are not afraid to speak up.

He hopes to be able to have those kinds of productive discussions with both sides as he works toward his greater goal of making his county strong and vibrant.

“I think I can have a business relationship with them and get things done,” Uzzell said.

“I am not in this for money. I am in it to help this community grow.”

Still, he knows politics has always been a part of elections, and this round is no exception.

He has heard the rumors that he will be beholden to the schools because he is employed there.

And he has felt the pressure that comes with being a challenger to an incumbent commissioner.

But Uzzell said despite those things, he will be his own man.

“I am not about political relationships and all the other stuff that goes along with that,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything bad about someone I know or to play those politics games.”

He has a deeper mission — one he has been thinking about for a long time.

It is one of the main reasons he has decided that now is the time to be part of the solution — and to offer his perspective on where his community needs to go moving forward.

And it’s personal.

“I want my daughter to come back here,” he said. “To do that, I have to make sure she has a strong county to come home to.” n

newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 11

ELECTION 2024 DISTRICT 6 ELECTION

N

ew ideas are great, incumbent commissioner Joe Daughtery says, but sometimes, when the going is a little tougher, an experienced hand is what is needed at the helm.

And after more than a decade on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, Daughtery says he knows the tough questions to ask and has the knowledge base necessary to make the critical changes the county needs to move forward.

So, he said, even though he is retired and could call it quits, he still feels like there are big issues to tackle.

“I have had several people tell me ‘Joe, you just can’t go to the beach,’” he said.

And tops on that list is fixing the problems he sees in Wayne County Public Schools.

“Our schools are killing us on economic development,” he said.

Daughtery said the commission has responded to the school district’s calls for more funding — without getting a measurable return on the investment.

“In 2019, they met with me and told me that we have to raise teacher supplements, so I went to the mat and got a raise in teacher supplements. And our test scores got worse,” he said. “Then it was local funding.”

And the school district’s poor performance has had consequences, as more and more parents are choosing private education for their children instead, Daughtery said.

“The school district doesn’t realize that they are in a competitive environment,” he said. “Money goes with the student.”

And that has budgetary consequences, Daughtery said.

“They have lost $14 million at the state and federal funding levels because of diminished enrollment,” he said. “And they are trying to make that money up locally.”

He said that having the county more involved is going to be a challenge.

“There is going to be a little bit of conflict with the school district because they do not believe that the commissioners should have any say in the schools,” Daughtery said.

But, if he is re-elected, Daughtery said he is ready to focus not just on the problem, but also on a solution.

“We have got to fix this for our kids,” he said.

Schools are not Daughtery's only priority.

The county, he said, is laser focused on making sure that it remains fiscally conservative and responsible.

“We are looking for ways to bring in 12

. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

Joe Daughtery

"Our schools are killing us on economic development." revenue rather than relying on taxpayer funds,” he said. “Our goal is to make more departments self-sufficient.”

One of the brightest spots is the Wayne Executive Jetport, which Daughtery said is thriving and getting closer and closer to being a solid revenue department.

“The progress has been encouraging,” Daughtery said.

The Jetport has received $10 million in grants — a goal the commission hopes will be possible for other departments as well.

“We have hired a grant writer for us to go out and to get grants,” Daughtery said.

Efforts to repair infrastructure are also critical to the future health of the county, the commissioner added, citing sewer concerns as tops on that list.

“We can no longer rely on the city to look after the sewer system,” Daughtery said.

“We are losing major development dollars

because of the sewer.”

One of those projects was a billion-dollar plant, he said, which went to Brunswick County when Wayne County could not guarantee sewer services.

Efforts to fix the problem have been ongoing for several years, Daughtery said, with the county just finishing a two-year study on creating a regionalized sewer system.Work on a project of this magnitude is slow, but he added that the commissioners understand that this is a concern that can no longer be pushed down the road.

“It is a priority, along with the schools, to encourage economic development,” he said.

Daughtery said school data is one of the first places companies look.

“Companies research a community before they consider an investment,” Daughtery said.

“It matters.”

And fixing the schools is also important as county leaders continue to foster the relationship

with Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Efforts to improve school facilities and the newly-created Wayne School of Technical Arts are just a few of the efforts designed to make sure the county offers the choices Air Force leaders say they want for their airmen and their families.

“We are going to have to shore up our relationship with the base,” he said. “We are working on that.”

Remaining fiscally responsible also applies to usage of county facilities.

Daughtery said while projects like the county jail have taken time and resources, others like the new Health Department building are progressing, and will be a plus when it comes to having modern and efficient buildings with more room and resources available to county residents.

The county’s goal is to start a primary care service at the new Health Department location — similar to the county’s dental lab, which was slowed down a bit by COVID — that will offer more health care options for county residents.

Daughtery said the county hopes to continue to evaluate facility use to create a “compound” of sorts that allows residents more access and keeps county expenses under control.

“We want to use taxpayer money responsibly and efficiently,” Daughtery added.

Daughtery said part of the reason he is running again is to make sure that some of the projects he has been instrumental in developing over the years do not have to start from scratch with a new set of leaders — because making sure Wayne County maintains its progress is too important.

“You have to have a passion to serve,” he said. “I have lived here all my life and have raised my daughters here. This is my community and I want to make sure it stays on the right track.”

Daughtery also addressed claims that he does not live in the county and is maintaining only one home — at the beach.

“I sold my family home in Walnut Creek,” he said. “I rented a townhome.”

Daughtery said he and his wife wanted to “try out” the smaller home to make sure they could adjust to the change in space.

“She loves it,” he said.

But, he said, he is retired, and he and his wife do enjoy their time at the beach.

“I have a nice place at the beach, and I like to go there and relax,” he said, adding that many people have second homes that they utilize for vacation or during their retirement years.

“But I am a Wayne County resident,” he said. “I have been one for 52 years.” n

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. Wayne WEEK . 13

DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE!

Wing Commander: 4th FW losing 333rd FS

Just how many aircraft and personnel will be chopped remains unclear.

BY KEN FINE

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uture F-15E cuts included in the National Defense Authorization Act that was approved by Congress — and signed into law by President Joe Biden — will impact Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the coming months.

The 4th Fighter Wing confirmed, just before press time, that the 333rd Fighter Squadron will soon be deactivated.

And while it remains unclear just how many airmen — and aircraft — SJAFB will lose as a result of the decision, the “Lancers” are not the only ones who will be affected.

The 335th Fighter Squadron, known as the “Chiefs” and currently one of the 4th’s two operational fighter squadrons, will become a training squadron in 2025.

“The recently approved divestment of some F-15E aircraft will result in the restructuring of our fighter assets,” 4th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Lucas Teel said in a statement provided to Wayne Week. “The Air Force is evolving and changing the way we do our war fighting business, and the 4FW looks forward to playing our part in that process.”

Community leaders, airmen, military spouses, and business owners have told Wayne Week they have been on edge since Air Force brass recommended that the USAF be authorized to cut its F-15E fleet by more than 100 aircraft, leaving just 99 Strike Eagles in an inventory that currently boasts 218.

North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd saw the writing on the wall — understanding that the divestment could spell disaster for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, one of the most significant military installations in his state — and attempted to derail the move, by inserting language into the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act that stipulated “none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for any of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 may be obligated or expended to divest any F-15E aircraft.”

Ultimately, his efforts fell short, and the final version of the Department of Defense spending plan approved by Congress and signed into law by Biden allowed for 68 of the dual-role fighters — more than 31 percent of the Air Force’s active fleet — to meet the chopping block by the end of 2029.

The move was telegraphed July 11 by Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Brown Jr. when,

during a two-hour testimony he delivered before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the general talked about “modernization efforts” outlined in the DOD’s “Report on Force Structure Changes for the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Budget” — and outlined his desire to retire Strike Eagles while adding additional F-35 Lightning IIs and F-15EXs to the Air Force’s fleet.

His belief is that backfilling the fleet with more than 100 F-15EXs, a two-seat fighter with a stronger airframe and a 28-percent larger payload capability, is the most prudent path forward.

Just how and when the 4th Fighter Wing was notified of the impending deactivation of the Lancers has not yet been disclosed, but according to the plan approved in Washington, before any aircraft is retired, the Secretary of the Air Force will be required to submit a report to Congress’ defense committees that includes: • A description of each proposed divestment by fiscal year and location.

• An explanation of the anticipated effects of such divestments on the missions, personnel, force structure, and budgeting of the Air Force.

• A description of the actions the secretary intends to carry out to mitigate any negative effects of such divestments.

• A description of the actions the secretary intends to carry out to modify or replace the missions and capabilities of any units and military installations affected by such divestments.

• An assessment of how such divestments may affect the ability of the Air Force to maintain minimum tactical aircraft inventories.

And just what the future holds for the Strike Eagles that remain housed at SJAFB is, at current, unknown — although Teel made it clear that when it comes to training the next generation of F-15E aircrew members, the Goldsboro base would remain the “home” of that mission.

“We sincerely appreciate the community’s continued support of our Airmen and mission,” the colonel said. “Seymour Johnson will remain the home of the F-15 training enterprise for years to come.”

Note: This is a developing story. For more updates, as they become available, follow Wayne Week. n

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. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

he truth.

The brass tacks, bottom line, real, unvarnished facts.

It isn’t easy to look at them.

They are hard to swallow and not easy at all to take.

Like a pill, a bitter pill.

But anyone who knows anything about success knows that until you take that look, until you face head on what the mountain is — and the circumstances and obstacles you really face — you can’t possibly overcome and turn it around.

It isn’t easy to admit that we have a problem in Wayne County Public Schools.

And what is even harder to face is how we got here and why we absolutely cannot afford to stay here.

But we have to.

It’s the only way.

We have trained our school personnel to sugarcoat the truth, to find the dimmest and most elusive bits of light to show progress in the face of the most overwhelming and toughest of circumstances reinforced by years of spin, capitulation, and changing goalposts.

And we as a community have accepted these little celebrations, these applausefilled sessions of “progress” because we were either not paying attention anymore or just desperate to find a silver lining.

We want to hear that there is a turnaround.

Now. Not three semesters from now.

So, we get why WCPS Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard spun the dismal numbers from the first semester’s test scores in math, English II and biology.

Because what he said was not a lie — scores from students in honors classes just might boost up the proficiency percentages of students “making the grade” on state tests.

And there was some improvement.

But what we wanted him to say — and what we hope you will see — is that we are not worried about boosting percentages up.

We are glad to hear that in biology 77 percent of the 60 students at Wayne School of Engineering tested proficient or that 89 percent of the 37 students at the Wayne School of Technical Arts got the scores they needed.

Those schools’ high percentage marks in Math III and English II are great news, too.

And, we should also point out, it was a highlight to see the 86 percent posted in English II at Spring Creek High School — even though only 21 students were tested.

All that is good news.

But it is not the point — not if we really want to talk about what is really going on in Wayne County Public Schools and what needs to be done to make our public schools the schools of choice in Wayne County and

to stem the tide of parents choosing to send their children elsewhere.

Here are the numbers to focus on: • Of the 687 students tested in biology, only 286 were proficient.

• Of the 644 tested in English II — sophomore English, a cornerstone for moving forward not only in English instruction, but in managing skills necessary to succeed in other subjects as well — 278 students earned “proficient” marks.

• Of the 560 students who took the Math III test — the junior level math course that one would reasonably assume is an important test of basic math knowledge — only 201 students demonstrated mastery of the content.

We will reserve comment on the Math I scores because, according to the district, the vast majority of the students have not taken that test yet.

But even without those numbers, we don’t have to tell you that the data is scary.

We don’t have to tell you that a student who cannot pass an English II proficiency test — and some who earned the required mark by the skin of their teeth — is not prepared to move ahead to the next class, or to be successful in classes where reading, writing, and comprehension skills are critical to understanding and communicating the material.

And we will tell you that end-of-grade tests only account for a sliver of a student’s final grade, so “not being proficient” is not enough to make them retake a class they simply did not make the grade in.

You can imagine then, why at the end of their high school careers, we have students completing their senior year with shocking literacy skills and reading levels that are in the single digits.

So, here comes the hard stuff — the things we, believe it or not, don’t like to talk about: • Wayne County is a community with more poverty than the average district.

We have children from homes that are not supportive of or pushing for school achievement and high school graduation.

Where we have supportive parents who are interested in what their children are learning and who demand the discipline and attention required to bring home good grades and a high school diploma, we see success, no matter what the income or socio-economic circumstance. But students who don’t have that support or who don’t have stable homes or who must fight their way through the minefields of gangs and violence that are “the projects,” well they have massive obstacles to overcome. And not all of them make it. Truth requires us to admit that.

• The district’s current situation is, in

part, the product of having to juggle funds to pay off a massive deficit. Thank goodness COVID funds came along — that WCPS was able to find ways to use those funds, within the rules, to offset expenditures it would otherwise have had to take from its anemic general fund balance. But that came at a cost. We are out of debt and back on a solid financial path (with the exception of the current board’s refusal to get rid of its highpriced attorney and some head-scratching curriculum purchases), but we don’t have the money we need to get ahead like other districts have. They used their COVID money to attract the best teachers with bonus after bonus. We used ours to pay bills.

• That “balanced budget” came with another sacrifice — class sizes. The first thing WCPS did when faced with its financial crisis was cut back the number of teachers it employed to the “state allotment.” That means fewer class sections and more kids stuffed into rooms. Class sizes in WCPS are large — in some cases, way too large. And when you have students who are not testing well, they need more individual help and attention, impossible in a 30-plus student room, and certainly not replaceable by a multi-million-dollar computer program.

• There is the discipline problem at not just one, but at several local high schools.

You have seen the videos and if you know teachers at Goldsboro High School or Eastern Wayne, you have heard their testimonials. There are students whose purpose for being in school is unclear other than to disrupt the learning process — and they are ruining the possibilities for those students who would make it with just a little extra push, a little less interruption.

The good students will score well on the proficiency tests anyway. Those who are there for no reason other than to play sports, flash gang signs, and deal drugs — the real discipline problems — are not going to be swayed to learn, especially if their disruption is not managed. The ones who miss out, the ones whose lives could be changed, are the ones who are on the cusp, the ones who would thrive in an environment where a teacher had time to assist, to encourage, and to not have to use his or her energy fighting off the disruptors and those who have zero respect for authority. They are part of those 50 to 60 percent who were not included in that “proficient” status.

• Yes, we are getting new buildings in Wayne County — several are on the way.

And there has been a slight increase in teacher supplements, but this is not a one and done expense. If county leaders want to see real change, they (and we) have to understand that investment produces

results. Responsible use of that money is required — and getting rid of personnel who are just not making the grade is a must — but quality districts have a certain level of “buy-in” from the community. If we want to be one of those districts, we have to spend money, and to demand that it is used responsibly.

• We are losing teachers and students.

Good teachers are battling uphill with discipline problems, large class sizes and watching inane board decisions (like the landscaping and board retreat fiascos).

Think they are confident that it is worth sticking around when the circumstances might be better down the road? And parents are worried about what their children are facing, too. If you had a child with potential, would you risk him or her ending up in a class where hoodlums get away with bad behavior and a frazzled teacher — or, in some cases, a long-term substitute — tries to meet the needs of a classroom of 30-plus students?

Those are the real conversations that need to be had.

But instead, the superintendent spun the latest score report — and put out the “potatoes and tomatoes” comparison — because that is what he thinks the community wants to hear.

“Progress” and “improvement.”

Wrong.

What we want — and need — to hear is something entirely different.

What we need to hear from Whichard and WCPS staff is that 50 to 60 percent of the student body not being able to earn “proficient” marks on their fall semester tests is simply unacceptable — that while there might be some bright spots, district personnel are not going to celebrate until that number is closer to 10 to 20 percent.

He can say it will take time, because it will.

He can say that staff is working hard, because most of them are.

And he can say he has taken steps to weed out the problems — both in administration, classrooms, and personnel — and that more changes and more listening to teachers and parents is coming.

He could say that a 2-percent increase is just not enough, not if Wayne County is going to be the “school district of choice” for this community.

He could say we have a long way to go, and he could reiterate his new standards and goals.

And he could stop using other districts’ mediocre performances as a backdrop for why Wayne County “isn’t so bad.”

He could say all that because it is the truth.

And it would mean more than yet another round of self-congratulatory back pats.n

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newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 17

Their Sweet Success

d

Debi and Dub Newton measure their business’ victories in memories made and relived inside their not-so-quiet Goldsboro cafe.

BY KEN FINE PHOTOS BY CASEY MOZINGO

18

. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

Cafe Le Doux has become one of the most popular establishments in Wayne County — a place people rush to Zso their favorite treats don’t sell out before they get there.

A

classically-trained French pastry chef’s friend tells her she should consider collaborating with a man who roasts his own coffee — that his skills could add something to her restaurant.

Debi Newton replies with an emphatic, “No.” But then she sees the roaster, and she tastes the coffee.

And, perhaps most importantly, she meets the man, Dub. She probably didn’t know that Dub honed his craft by heating up beans in a Whirley Pop popcorn popper — a “stainless steel unit with a windup handle” that, in the beginning, “smoked up the whole house.”

And so, when she saw his more modern machine, Debi considered putting it in the window of the restaurant, Dub says, a smile creeping across his face, “just so people could smell it.”

The rest, as they say, is history, a 20-year match made in culinary heaven — like a great pastry and an equally-satisfying cup of coffee.

It’s also a “meet cute” that started a journey that has led the baker and the coffee maker to their own little hot spot in Goldsboro where customers are comfortable enough to pull up a chair for a chat and their creations fly off the shelves.

And it’s a dream come true — a tribute to those who taught Debi the way.

A

bite of Italian ricotta almond cake sends a woman back in time.

For a moment, she is no longer sitting inside Café Le Doux — the small coffee and pastry shop tucked on the corner of a strip mall off Spence Avenue Dub and Debi opened in August 2022.

She’s a little girl locking eyes with her grandmother.

“When she bit into it, it was so much like her grandmother’s, she had tears coming out of her eyes,” Debi said.

The pastry chef can relate.

For her, with every item she creates for what has become a cult-like following of customers who rave about one of Goldsboro’s newest eateries, she is “transported” to her own grandmother’s kitchen.

“The dough and the breads really transport me,” Debi said. “If it’s soft and that crust is just perfect, you know. And when I know, it takes me back to being a little girl.”

If you ask one of the many loyal patrons who get their caffeine and sweet fix at Café Le Doux day after day, they would tell you there is so much Continued on page 20

newoldnorth.com

. Wayne WEEK . 19

Continued from “Sweet Success”, page 19

more to the establishment than the houseroasted coffee and handmade pastries that lure everyone from doctors and lawyers to teenagers and members of the military to that strip mall.

The food and drinks are a part of the experience, yes.

But it’s the opportunity to relive coveted memories and to make new ones they say truly sets the café apart.

Debi and Dub still find it hard to believe that what was supposed to be a small, quiet place where they could enjoy their retirement has turned into a phenomenon — that what started as Dub and a single employee working with Debi, who ran an insurance agency, coming in a few hours a day to make some pastries and bread would become a bustling business with nearly a dozen employees.

“Within two months of when we opened the door, everything would be blown out of the pastry cases,” Dub said. “We had no idea.

It’s just gotten out of hand.”

“It got to where I was over here every day for three to four hours instead of one hour or two hours. He was selling out. We finally decided it was just wearing me down.

I couldn’t do it. I said, ‘I’m retiring,’” Debi added. “That’s how we got in here together earlier because that wasn’t the plan. The plan

20

. Wayne WEEK . newoldnorth.com

was to have a sleepy little coffee shop with a few pastries and a few breads. We didn’t know it was going to take off.”

A

little girl watches her Native American grandmother and great-grandmother in the kitchen.

They are making traditional flatbread.

“As I got older, we started baking,” Debi said. “They would let me in on everything they did.”

Their recipes — from chew bread to butter pecan cookies — are mainstays inside Café Le Doux.

“That’s why I think I got into baking. I had those influences who taught me how to do bread,” Debi said. “They taught me how to cook and bake. They were so good at it.”

So, every single time she and her employees are working with dough, she feels her ancestors beside her.

“I think of them,” Debi said. “And I tell the girls in the back, ‘You better get it right, because they’re up there watching.”

And those connections — how a feeling, taste, or smell forever binds a person to loved ones — are revealed often inside the café.

Like the French couple who marveled at one of Debi’s quiches.

“They said, ‘We haven’t had a quiche that good since we left France,’” Debi said. “We

are pretty proud of our quiches because they are original. You have people who make them, I call them American quiches. They are so different in texture in taste. I think ours stood out.”

Or the German and Italian families who are in Goldsboro because of military ties and walk into the shop.

“They keep coming and coming because they get to have a little taste of home. When they get a buttery tart or a European pastry, they feel like they’re back home again. That makes me happier than anything,” Debi said.

“Just to see their faces, it’s unreal. They smile so much when they taste it. That means we’re doing something right.”

A

man with long white hair and a long white beard sits at a small white table.

He sips an espresso and, when a customer enters his café, greets them as an old friend.

“He’s the meet-and-greeter,” Debi said.

“And he always says, ‘Goodbye’ or ‘Have a good day.’”

But there is nothing disingenuous about the way Dub interacts with those who frequent Café Le Doux.

To him — and his wife — they are more than customers.

“They are our friends now,” Debi said.

So, while they find it amazing that when

they opened their doors, they would sell out within a few hours, the popularity of Café Le Doux has never been what drives them.

It’s those connections — and watching tears fall and memories relived — that remind them they are exactly where they are meant to be.

“We have all types. We have doctors, we have lawyers, we have common working people, we have corporate people, we have military. So, we have everybody. That’s the beauty,” Debi said. “You love everybody and you want to embrace everybody who comes in here and give them what they want. I think that’s why the community is accepting of us.

And when we get to see their reactions — what this means to them — you know, you get tired and the days get long, but when that happens, you’re like, ‘I could do this all day.’”

And it doesn’t hurt that they get to do it together.

“I could never do this without him,” Debi said, looking up at her husband.

Dub smiles.

“You know, her dad had told her the whole time we were barely surviving and getting killed in the restaurant business, he said, ‘You know, if you had just done the bakery and the coffee, it would have been a lot better and a lot easier,’” he said, letting out a soft chuckle.

“Well, here we are. Turns out he was right.

And it’s pretty special.”n

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FREEMAN HARDISON JR. County Commissioner District 4

PRIOR TO BECOMING A COMMISSIONER, I HAVE SERVED THE COMMUNITY AND WAYNE COUNTY IN THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: l Wayne County Planning Board - former Board Member l Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority (GWTA) – former Chairman l Wayne UNC Healthcare Hospital - Board of Directors

Executive Committer Board Member - Building and Grounds Committee - Chairman - Quality Committee - Member - Wayne Action Teams for Community

l Health (WATCH) - Board Member

WHILE SERVING AS A COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR THE PAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS AND I HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ACCOMPLISHING THE FOLLOWINGZZ l The purchase of Grantham’s EMS station from the Grantham’s VFD. l Finding funding for the town of Mt. Olive. l Construction of a new Department of Social Service

and Health Department.

l Construction of a new jail to support our law enforcement; providing

a safe environment for the officers as well as those confined.

l Purchase of a mobile command unit for the Sheriff’s department. l Construction of a new elementary school in Fremont and plans

for a new Rosewood Middle School.

l Renovation of the Fremont Library.

EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES, WE MUST CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE FUTURE. MY GOALS AS COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 4 ARE:

l Continued development of shell buildings for new businesses

1. Continue to support our farmers and the Wayne County

l Continued support to Wayne Community College (a leader in

2. Continue to Improve School Facilities: I will continue to advocate for

coming to Wayne County.

affordable education for North Carolina) for their new Center for Industrial Technology Education (CITE) building.

l Supported competitive salaries and compensations for our county

employees, sheriff department and emergency department.

l Updated equipment and training to emergency stations and community

volunteer fire departments in areas so that they can provide timely coverage for our communities.

l Grants to provide internet service in areas who do not have service,

and improve services in other areas.

agricultural industry.

funding and initiatives that improve school facilities. This includes building a new Rosewood Middle School.

3. Improving Economic Development: we must attract new businesses and

industries to our county, creating job opportunities for our residents, and promoting sustainable economic growth.

4. Developing a Regional Sewer: Access to proper sanitation

is crucial for the well-being of our communities and economic growth.

5. Continue to support mental health initiatives throughout the County.

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