Wayne Week — April 28, 2024

WEEK Wayne

Troubled WATER ?

The EPA says up to 10 percent of public drinking water systems reported unsafe levels of "forever chemicals."

Goldsboro is one of them, but city leaders say they are on top of the issue.

BY KEN FINE / p.12

New tent cities have emerged in Goldsboro — and one of them is off the Stoney Creek Greenway.

APRIL 28, 202 4 Volume 1, Issue 37

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CONTENTS

4 New tent cities emerge

Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West says he is not shocked that new tent cities are popping up across the city, but many local residents — and members of the City Council — are growing concerned.

10 Our take

There is no easy solution to Goldsboro's homelessness and addiction crises, but it is time for the community to face some hard truths — and offer suggestions on how to begin to turn the tide.

12 Cover story

The EPA says between six and ten percent of public drinking water systems reported unsafe levels of "forever chemicals."

Goldsboro is one of them, but Mayor Charles Gaylor says the city taking the fight to those partially responsible and working to ensure the numbers improve so all local residents feel safe when they fill up their glasses.

16 The late Tommy King is honored

When two little girls showed up outside of Bicycle World with a lemonade stand, they had no idea they would raise more than $1,400 for a local charity that memorializes their late father, Tommy King.

20 The Spectator

The Princeton High School baseball team came to Goldsboro Tuesday evening and brought plenty of firepower with them, as the Bullgdogs shut out their host 10-0.

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY SHAN STUMPF / ADOBE STOCK

NEWS + VIEWS

New tent cities emerge — and residents are worried

A month after police shuttered the "Tent City" located off Royall Avenue,

BY KEN FINE

Alittle boy places a red and blue helmet on top of his head.

“That’s some helmet,” his grandfather says. “Now, what’s that supposed to be?”

The boy smiles.

“Spider-Man,” he shouts.

His mother’s father kneels — reaching up to secure the chin strap.

“Would you look at that? It’s got eyes and webs and everything,” the man says. “That’s one fancy helmet.”

Moments later, his first-born grandson is guiding his black bicycle down a paved path lined by trees — looking back, every so often, for the approval of today’s “babysitter.”

other encampments are being populated across Goldsboro.

“Keep going Spider-Man,” the man says. “You’ll be off those training wheels before you know it.”

But when, soon after, two bicycles emerge from the woods a few dozen feet ahead — one of them, pulling a wagon — the grandfather tells the child to slow down.

Neither the man nor the woman riding them acknowledge those on the path as they pass by, but as they do, the little boy stops and turns back to make sure his grandfather is still right behind him.

And then, the two almost simultaneously look to their left.

“Look, Pop Pop,” the boy says, pointing beyond the tree line. “Boy Scouts.”

The man pauses as he calculates his response.

“Come on, Spider-Man. It’s time to head home and get a snack,” he says. “We don’t want to interrupt their campout.”

He knew they were not Boy Scouts, the six people congregating off the Stoney Creek North Greenway Tuesday afternoon.

“Looks like we have a new Tent City right here,” he said under his breath so his grandson wouldn’t hear him. “I have a heart for the homeless. I’m a Christian. But would you bring your child down here and risk them picking up a needle? There’s no telling what they’re doing back there.”

He is not the only one concerned.

Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West said

law enforcement has seen an uptick in calls relating to panhandling and “suspicious people” in the Stoney Creek Park area in recent weeks, as those who used to live in the now-shuttered Royall Avenue homeless encampment have “scattered across the city” after being threatened with arrest for claiming the private property beyond the tree line lining the railroad tracks as their own.

And the budding community located just off the parkway path is only one of the new sites that have drawn the ire of local residents since Tent City was cleared out in late March.

If you drive down the service road off U.S. 117 just past 117 Storage, you can see shopping carts, bedding, and other items in the woods.

A new homeless encampment has popped up off the Stoney Creek Greenway since Goldsboro's "Tent City" was shuttered by city police last month.

PHOTOS BY CASEY MONZINGO

West says as many as a dozen former Tent City residents are now living there.

“Definitely seeing an increase of calls in the west side of town — panhandling, suspicious persons, (breaking and entering), larcenies,” he said. “That’s what we’re tracking right now.”

The chief warned the community and its leaders that this would happen — that when members of the GPD evicted the nearly 30 people who were living in the woods off Royall Avenue, they would set up somewhere else.

But he also vowed to trust in what has now become a process to ensure those inhabiting private property would be removed.

“The slowdown for us at this point is getting these additional properties that they’re staying on, tracking down the owners and getting trespass agreements. That usually takes like seven to ten days,” West said. “So, it takes some time. But whenever we find them on properties, we’re going to talk to the owners. And if we get trespass agreements, we’re going to end up charging them and putting them in jail. That’s where we’re at. And it’s unfortunate, but it seems like they don’t want the help that’s being offered to them, and people have a right to not have folks camping on their property without permission.”

• • •

Goldsboro is not the only city in America — or North Carolina — dealing with dueling homelessness and addiction crises.

In fact, the same day that little boy in the Spider-Man helmet saw those “Boy Scouts” camping off the Stoney Creek North Greenway, more than 40 people living in tents on a state-owned, vacant lot at the

intersection of Highways 401 and U.S. 70 in Raleigh were told to leave the premises or face arrest.

And the day before, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will, as soon as June, determine the constitutionality of ordinances in an Oregon city that ban the homeless from using pillows, blankets, and cardboard boxes while sleeping there — a decision that will likely shape how municipalities can address the issue.

For people like Josh Doest, one of the men currently living in the woods off the Goldsboro greenway, having a place to sleep seems like a basic human right.

And if his current campsite is on city

council work toward a real solution that can really take shape only if those individuals currently living on the streets have the desire to change their fortunes.

“In our ministry, we emphasize that true transformation begins with the individual’s genuine desire for change. Real and lasting change can only happen when there is a sincere shift in the heart,” Weeks said. “It’s essential for these individuals to actively seek help and embrace it for themselves to achieve success in their journey toward recovery.”

Earlier this month, Councilwoman Jamie Taylor bemoaned the fact that it was seemingly a foregone conclusion that the shuttering of one Tent City would only lead to others.

property, the land, he said, “belongs to everyone.”

“I’m not hurting anyone. I keep to myself,” he said. “The way they keep harassing us, it’s like they don’t even see us as human. We’re just trying to get by like everyone else and they keep kicking us out, wherever we go.”

But City Councilwoman Beverly Weeks, who serves the homeless population through her non-profit, Cry Freedom Missions, and represents the district where the parkway encampment is forming, says it’s not that simple.

“We must acknowledge that this is city property, and if that is indeed the case, then these individuals are technically trespassing and we do need to dismantle the encampment,” she said.

And then, elected officials, community leaders, local residents, and other stakeholders “must urgently pursue genuine solutions and have meaningful conversations to address this matter effectively” — as difficult as it may be.

Short-term solutions, Weeks added, like providing food, supplies, and Narcan to the city’s homeless population have not been effective in resolving the crisis, as evidenced by the prolonged occupation of the former Tent City.

“It’s challenging to navigate this situation,” she said. “It’s worth noting that our motives that are often rooted in compassion can enable and prolong destructive behavior by meeting immediate needs without addressing the core issue.”

But given her history with CFM, Weeks said she is determined to keep the issue at the fore — to ensure fellow members of the

“It’s a good thing that this one Tent City is more under control now, but am I concerned that we’re just going to have another Tent City pop up in another place? Yes. And that means we haven’t fixed the problem,” she said then. “And I know people have put hours and hours of time trying to figure out this stuff and then, nobody is accepting the help. So, what do you do when nobody is accepting the help?”

One of the people who was trying to work toward a solution was United Way Executive Director Sherry Archibald.

In the month-plus leading up to the Tent City mass eviction, she coordinated with everyone from Tommy’s Foundation and the Salvation Army to the Department of Motor Vehicles in an attempt to provide as many services as possible to those she knew would soon be told to leave the encampment.

But when the Salvation Army agreed to open an emergency shelter and the United Way spent $400 to ensure security was in place, nobody from the encampment showed up.

“We tried to share that message of it being available for, I think, maybe the last five weeks or so,” Archibald told Wayne Week several weeks ago. “And when no one came, we still had security we needed to pay for.”

The next night? Same result.

“So, I talked to (Tommy’s Foundation Director Kellie Floars) and she said, ‘Nobody is using this, and I don’t think we should keep going because we could use the money somewhere else,’”she said. “So, we have to be compassionate, but we have to be smart, too. We can’t throw away money, but we need to make sure we have the resources available when they are ready to accept them and come and ask for them.”

A similar scene unfolded inside the DMV

GRAPHIC BY SHAN STUMPF

Continued from page 5

after she figured out a way to get several Tent City residents ID cards they said they desperately needed.

Three people were supposed to meet Archibald, who had gotten them bus tickets and blocked out time to assist them with the paperwork. Several hours of waiting later, it was clear they were not going to show.

“All I can do is just continue to offer … but they have to meet me somewhere. So far, they haven’t. I don’t know if it’s because they’re not ready or if something blocked them and they’ll try again, but I just feel like I have to keep trying,” she said. “All of us, each of us, are recognizing that we can only do what we can do. So, we can’t do but so much and we shouldn’t do but so much because they have to meet us along the way, but I think it’s part of our job to provide the resources when they’re ready. And we just showed, I think, that we are more than capable of doing that if and when the time comes.”

Floars and her non-profit have taken their share of lumps because of their involvement with the city’s homeless population.

She has been called an enabler and her

Continued on page 8

Homeless community copes with recent deaths

Gordon Cole wrings his hands and looks down at the ground.

He is trying to find the words to describe what it was like to find “one of my best friends” dead in a wooded area near the intersection of I-795 and West Ash Street April 12, but as questions are asked, he just shakes his head.

If they were still in Tent City, Cole said, Richard Scott Lane, known to his friends as “Scottie,” would still be alive today.

“I don’t just think that, I know it,” Cole said. “Out there, we would look after each other.”

So, it’s no surprise to the homeless community still mourning the deaths of Lane and several others they once counted as “like family” that since the encampment was shuttered at the end of March, deadly overdoses began unfolding.

“Nobody was dying out there,” Cole said,

looking across Royall Avenue at the entrance of what used to be a populated Tent City.

“Am I wrong?”

It is a developing story that has gained statewide attention. Seven bodies found in Goldsboro in 10 days.

But for those who knew the men and women found dead over the last two weeks — and the chief of the city’s police department — there is a link between the cases that has not yet been discussed.

Five are suspected overdoses.

And all of them were, in one way or another, “alone.”

West acknowledged that there was likely a link between what he characterized as the necessary closure of Tent City and at least five of the seven deaths.

“They are going to go out there and they are going to do their drugs, but they don’t have their typical partner because they’re

spread out. They’re not in a community anymore,” he said. “So, a lot of them who O.D.ed were alone. They didn’t have anybody there with the Narcan to save them. So, I do think there’s a correlation with Tent City being disbanded and them not having an ability to look after each other.”

Tommy’s Foundation founder Kellie Floars agrees.

“If you talk to some of them that are upset and even some of them that found some of their friends dead, they would tell you the same thing,” she said. “If they would have been together, this wouldn’t have happened. They don’t typically use alone, and if they were using it together, they look out for each other.”

But for Cole, the “why” means nothing now that his friends are gone.

And now, he feels like he is left to wonder who is next.

“It’s like this was their plan all along,” he said. “Everywhere we go, they harass us. It’s like they want us to leave their city or just die. We’re human, too.” n

Gordon Cole

organization has been criticized for hosting weekly dinners aimed at ensuring Tent City residents and other unhoused citizens have a hot meal and basic supplies as they navigate the day-to-day associated with addiction, mental illness, and other circumstances that have led to their misfortune.

And she is even taking the blame for the new encampment located off the greenway, as April 16, Tommy’s Foundation hosted its Tuesday dinner at Stoney Creek Park.

“We’re not encouraging anyone to go back to Tent City or to set up camp anywhere,” she said. “But we have to have a place to do our Tuesday nights. We can’t just stop offering services because people are uncomfortable with the homeless and with addicts.”

She can’t stop because she has seen the fruits of the relationships built at those gatherings — several addicts sent to recovery who are now clean and thriving; homeless mothers and their children who now have permanent housing.

So, to her, solving the city’s rise in homelessness relies heavily on building trust with those who need help. And then, if local leaders are willing to think outside the box, she can use that bond to make lasting change.

That is why she has, for the last several

years, attempted to raise money for Tommy’s House, an unorthodox shelter she believes has the potential to move the needle. Because as well-intentioned as other non-profits are, without the relationship piece, the help they offer will not always be accepted.

And on several occasions, Tent City residents have told Wayne Week that they trust Floars and her team — that were she to open a shelter, they would agree to emerge from the woods.

“It’s not your common, you know, what they were trying to do at the Salvation Army where you get eight hours of sleeping and in the morning, you have to leave kind of thing,” Floars said. “You make a plan for someone’s life because they are in active addiction, and you help them make that plan happen in an environment where they feel supported.”

Because whatever their situation, they are human, she said — people deserving of compassion, grace, and a second chance.

“These are different individuals with different stories,” Floars said. “So yes, we have to try something different. Putting someone in jail because they are an addict sleeping in the woods doesn’t seem right. So maybe instead of doing that, we should meet them where they are and create a safe space where they can actually change their lives.”n

There is no right answer. There is no absolute, definitive solution to homelessness — one perfect choice that will eliminate the issue once and for all.

And no matter how clear and concise and sure-footed the pundits or the politicians seem as they talk about what they would do, what should be done, and why what is being done is not working, they don’t know either.

They are not alone.

We know that no one knows what to do — the silver bullet to get people off the streets and how to manage those who are there — because the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t quite know what to make of how to handle policing homeless encampments and our own local leaders and others are struggling to find the right way to control the problem right here in our community.

The simple truth is that compassion cannot be the only answer to the homelessness problem in Wayne County — or anywhere else for that matter.

We can’t just feel bad that there are drug addicts who simply are not yet ready to make the choice to change their lives and wait without judgment — and turn our heads to their breaking of the law — until they do.

And simply ignoring the rights of the people who pay taxes to live in a safe community because there are people with sad stories in the woods, well that won’t work either.

But then again, these are people — someone’s daughter, son, brother, sister, childhood friend, and former neighbor.

And we want to help. We want to save them.

So, we don’t want to hear that people are struggling to survive, living in putrid and awful conditions right down the road, or that dead bodies are turning up in our community while we looked the other way.

And we don’t want to turn away from people who need help. Our churches and our faith tell us that is how we should behave.

But as we have said before, there are consequences to too much compassion — to waiting too long to address an issue and letting it spiral out of control.

We might just be there right now.

We might now be realizing that the problem we hoped would solve itself is now getting closer to our own backyards and that it is time to do something.

So, it was the right idea to move the homeless encampment out from Tent City to get rid of the drugs, the crime, the violence, and the eyesore.

It was right to insist that an ever-worsening

A SUPREME PROBLEM

problem, a growing threat and blight right on a main drag of the city of Goldsboro was not just left to fester.

It was probably time to act.

But there are consequences to actions, and we are seeing them now.

The homeless who were living in those woods along Royall Avenue are now scattering across the community.

And that means they are in places like Stony Creek Park and in wooded areas behind subdivisions and shopping centers.

They are pitching tents.

They are moving through city streets late in the evening.

They are not contained.

They are not monitored.

And they are not reachable.

So, now, we have the Tent City area vacated, but we have problems brewing in other areas of the city.

Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West was right. We did not solve the problem. We moved it.

And all of us who believed it was the prudent course are now at a loss.

The non-profits that are focused on dealing with issues like this? Well, they have their thoughts, but even they know that so much of what we see is part of a deeper problem — drugs, addiction, mental health — and there is no straight answer on what will stem that tide.

So, we are all in the same place.

We know we cannot have lawlessness, rampant sale and abuse of drugs, theft, etc., etc., but we don’t know how to reach those caught in those webs.

We want to help, but we don’t want to be taken advantage of either.

But perhaps we have to address this problem in bites.

And that starts with figuring out how we got here.

This problem has spiraled because we did look away.

We told the police they were insensitive for doing their jobs and elected officials decided they didn’t want to take a PR hit, so the crisis grew.

We refused to prosecute when law enforcement found drugs and stolen goods, and it sent a message.

And Tent City only became a focus again when it was not in hiding anymore — when the consequences of the choices these individuals made started seeping out into our daily lives and we realized that ignoring this was not going to make it go away.

It was time.

We cannot have unsafe conditions near children, near neighborhoods, and in public spaces.

And yes, used needles scattered along the

side of the Stoney Creek Park Greenway is a major concern.

And no, there is no inherent right to camp in the woods and do drugs — even if that property is owned by the city. Said another way, you cannot just claim a piece of someone’s property because you have nowhere else to go.

So, we have to take a stand — a stand that says that there are rules here.

Sure, we can do so with a sidenote: If you want help, we will offer it.

But if you run a criminal enterprise in the middle of our city, we are going to make sure you do it somewhere else.

There are people we can help right now, men and women who might be just inches away from the rock bottom that will send them for the help they need. And others, too, who have just fallen through the cracks with no one to trust, no family to fall back on.

They are there, and they are being taken advantage of by those who presence in those woods is about crime, drug sales, and other misdeeds.

If we send the criminals packing, if we make it known that if you steal, if you break the law, you will be dealt with firmly and quickly, maybe we can forge a path to real help for those who might only be in those woods because they feel like they have nowhere to turn.

But we have to be careful, too.

This is when the charlatans come waltzing in. Nothing attracts a scammer quite like the smell of a community with a heart that wants to help with a problem that is tough to address and even tougher to look at.

We know the type. They have caught us over the years, too.

We have reputable and well-managed organizations here that set standards and measure objectives — like the United Way of Wayne County.

They will be accountable for the funds we give them. And they are who should get them.

Track records matter. Well-managed operations that are accountable, like Tommy’s Foundation and Cry Freedom Missions, they matter, too.

But there is no room here for just throwing money at any organization with its hand out and a claim that they are ready to fix the homelessness crisis in Wayne County.

In other words, beware of the man with the shiny plan and slick presentation.

There is no easy answer. No one has it. So, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

This is not a time to throw money at a problem and then turn away again. We will just be right back here in a year.

And when we do start the plans, and we walk the walk, we can address the concerns that create encampments in the woods.

Here are a few:

We need to address what is happening right now with our youths in this community.

We need to talk about gun violence and the threats right here in the low-income neighborhoods in this city.

We need to keep backing the police and those who are tasked with cleaning up crime and protecting our streets.

We need to face the increased victimhood, the lack of accountability, and the number of people who seem to think that they can do whatever they want with no consequences.

We need to talk about deadbeat parents and fatherless families.

We need to think about poverty and those who are just scraping by.

We need to set standards, to send a message that this is not a community where crime gets just a slap on the wrist or where you can attack or sass-mouth a teacher and just go about your day.

We need to deal with the education failures that are creating generations of young people with nowhere to go.

And we have to understand that a lack of accountability — everywhere — results in steps backward, not forward.

We are not alone in the problems we face. They are happening everywhere, every day.

But we can be proactive and forward-

thinking about how we address them.

No, we don’t have to turn away, but we don’t have to be doormats either.

All it takes to get started is the truth, the willingness to see where well-meaning decisions might not have been the right ones and adjust them, and understanding that there can be no solution where there is no honest introspection.

We will get there, and we will get there the right way.

But sitting back and just tsk-tsking about the state of the world on some Facebook page is not going to make that happen. And stomping your feet and making expansive and definitive pronouncements won’t do it either.

So, we will start it off. We need a realistic and step-by-step way to fix this problem.

In every edition of Wayne Week, there is a call for reader feedback — for your letters to the editor about issues facing this community. Have a solution?

Now is the time to be bold enough to put your name on it.

The time for kicking this can down the road has long since come to an end.

Action, right this very minute, might save more than a few lives — and our community.

So, let’s talk.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing them with your neighbors.n

Troubled WATER ?

The EPA says up to 10 percent of public water systems reported unsafe levels of "forever chemicals." Goldsboro is one of them, but city leaders say they are on top of the issue.

BY KEN FINE

On April 10, the Biden-Harris Administration issued a set of national, legally enforceable drinking water standards to “protect communities” from exposure to “forever chemicals” — also known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS — as exposure to them has been linked to cancer, liver and heart issues, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.

And with the new standards came a pledge — billions of dollars to help states implement PFAS testing and treatment to ensure their drinking water is safe.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between 6 and 10 percent of the 66,000 public drinking water systems subject to the new rules will have to take action to reduce the amount of forever chemicals in their drinking water.

Goldsboro is one of them.

But while the city is above the new legal limit for two of them, PFOS and PFOA, it has shown leadership in taking on those partially responsible for the contamination and leaders have offered transparency as it relates to the numbers.

And, perhaps most importantly, despite the fact that the federal government is giving municipalities several years to get their levels below the new threshold, Goldsboro Mayor Charles Gaylor has pledged to ensure a system is put into place as soon as possible he says will guarantee the safety of the water coming out of residents’ faucets.

PFAS WATER CYCLE

“We’re not waiting. We’re talking about water — a fundamental tenet humans need to survive. So, it needs to be a highquality product that we’re offering to our community,” he said. “So yeah, it’s going to happen and it’s not going to be five years from now. It’s going to be just as soon as we can get the right solution identified and implemented.”

• • •

PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used since the 1940s.

According to the EPA, they can be found in the following locations:

Drinking water  — in public drinking water systems and private drinking water wells.

Soil and water at or near waste sites — at landfills, disposal sites, and hazardous waste sites such as those that fall under the federal Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act programs.

Manufacturing or chemical production

facilities that produce or use PFAS – for example at chrome plating, electronics, and certain textile and paper manufacturers.

Food — for example, in fish caught from water contaminated by PFAS and dairy products from livestock exposed to PFAS.

Food packaging — for example, in grease-resistant paper, fast food containers/wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, and candy wrappers.

Household products and dust — for example, in stain and water-repellent used on carpets, upholstery, clothing, and other fabrics; cleaning products; non-stick cookware; paints, varnishes, and sealants.

Personal care products — for example, in certain shampoo, dental floss, and cosmetics.

Biosolids — for example, fertilizer from wastewater treatment plants that is used on agricultural lands can affect ground and surface water and animals that graze on the land.

Fire extinguishing foam — in aqueous film-forming foams (or AFFFs) used to extinguish flammable liquid-based fires. Such

foams are used in training and emergency response events at airports, shipyards, military bases, firefighting training facilities, chemical plants, and refineries.

And when Goldsboro officials got wind of the latter, the city joined a lawsuit against 3M and other companies that manufactured and sold the foam.

“As soon as it came out that we were asked to join the lawsuit and ultimately did, to his credit, (Public Utilities Director) Bert Sherman initiated the testing,” Gaylor said. “And that’s when he initiated trying to figure out, you know, what materials are we going to need, what filtration methods are we going to need to be able to provide safe water and obviously be compliant. So yeah, I’m proud of him.”

But the lawsuit the city joined was not the first time Goldsboro and 3M were at odds in a courtroom.

Back in 2021, the state of North Carolina brought a civil action against the company and more than a dozen others, claiming

Continued on page 14

SOURCES: ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, CITY OF GOLDSBORO

QUESTIONS ABOUT PSFAS*

SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT MY HEALTH?

EPA’s lifetime health advisory levels offer information that indicates the safe levels of exposure to these individual PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, GenX Chemicals, and PFBS) through drinking water over the course of a person’s lifetime to avoid adverse health effects. It is important to note that lifetime health advisories are calculated to offer a margin of protection that also takes into account exposure through other sources beyond drinking water. If you are concerned about potential health effects from exposure to these PFAS above the health advisory level, EPA encourages you to contact your doctor or health care professional.

SHOULD I STOP BREASTFEEDING MY INFANT?

The World Health Organization, U.S. Surgeon General, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others, believe the advantages of breastfeeding greatly outweigh the potential risks in nearly every circumstance. EPA encourages women and people who are currently pregnant, nursing, or bottle feeding an infant with formula to consult with their physician regarding concerns related to breastfeeding and potential exposure to chemicals such as PFAS. For more information about PFAS and breastfeeding, visit the CDC’s (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) webpage on PFAS and Breastfeeding.

IS MY WATER SAFE FOR BATHING/SHOWERING?

EPA’s health advisories primarily focus on drinking water ingestion, not exposure through skin or breathing. However, they account for a margin of safety for other potential exposure sources, such as skin (dermal), breathing (inhalation), dietary exposure, consumer products, etc. Studies have shown that only a small amount of PFAS can get into your body through the skin.

Continued from page 13

they were responsible for “injuries to North Carolina’s natural resources, including groundwater, surface water, sediments, soils, and biota” — one that sought compensation for “property damages, economic damages, remediation and restoration costs, and all other relief available as a result of releases of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”) and perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA “) into the environment due to the use, release, spill, transport, storage, disposal, and/or handling of aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.”

So, now that Goldsboro’s PFOS level (7.56) and PFOA level (5.68) are both over the EPA’s new limit of 4 parts per trillion, leaders feel they have a compelling legal argument.

And when they receive the settlement they expect, the money will be used to ensure local residents feel comfortable every time they fill up their glasses.

“We do not know the exact amount that we will receive, but what I can tell you is that our water treatment folks have already said what they think is the filtration method that is going to be

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HEALTH EFFECTS

Current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to:

• Reproductive effects such as decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women.

• Developmental effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes.

• Increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.

• Reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response.

• Interference with the body’s natural hormones.

• Increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity.

“ We need people to know that we take the responsibility of providing their water seriously. We want them to be able to make the right choice for their family — if they want to drink the water or choose a different hydration option. But I also want to make sure folks know that we’re not hiding anything. We’re not part of any cover-up conspiracy. We’re here trying to provide the safest, cleanest option for the people.”

- Goldsboro Mayor Charles Gaylor

the best and they are already getting the numbers of what that’s going to cost,” Gaylor said. “And what I’ll tell you is, whatever they say we need to have to be able to get under this threshold and get it to a level that they feel safe giving that water to their kids, we’re going to buy it. Even if the amount of money that the settlement gives us is less than that, we’re going to buy it.”

For the mayor and city staff, it’s not just about complying with new government standards.

It’s about keeping the trust between a government and its citizens Gaylor says is the only path forward.

And that is why the numbers are available right now in the city’s Annual Drinking Water Report on the Goldsboro website.

“We need people to know that we take the responsibility of providing their water seriously. We want them to be able to make the right choice for their family — if they want to drink the water or choose a different hydration option,” Gaylor said. “But I also want to make sure folks know that we’re not hiding anything. We’re not part of any coverup conspiracy. We’re here trying to provide the safest, cleanest option for the people.”n

*

COMMUNITY + ARTS IT WAS NEVER REALLY ABOUT THE LEMONADE

When the community showed up to help Lola and Charlotte King raise money for a charity that memorializes their father, it helped a family as it continues to mourn — and heal.

BY KEN FINE

It was her first boat ride, and a chunky cheeked infant was wearing a blue and yellow lifejacket as the water sprayed across her face.

But Lola King had nothing to fear that afternoon in New Bern because her father, Tommy, had his arms wrapped around her.

There was the Halloween she dressed up as Dora the Explorer — complete with a dark brown wig, pink shirt, and purple backpack — and Tommy wore a Swiper the Fox costume so she had a partner in crime on the trick-or-treat trail.

And there was the day, a few months earlier, her dad helped deliver the news that she was going to be a big sister.

For the first five years of Lola’s life, she and Tommy did everything one might imagine if they close their eyes and try to picture classic childhood memories.

And from riding piggyback on his shoulders to cruising the neighborhood on the back of his bicycle, many of those moments were captured by her mother, Jacqueline — a talented photographer who never missed an opportunity to preserve her partner’s bond with his girls.

But these days, if you ask Lola, now 7, about her father, she goes silent and looks down.

“She won’t talk about Tommy,” Jacqueline said. “Ever.”

And since his sudden death in February 2022, the girl’s mother has had “no choice” but to navigate raising Lola and her 5-year-old sister, Charlotte, without her “wingman” — hoping she is doing it the right way; praying her girls never lose their connection to a man who threw everything he had into being the best dad he could be.

So, she hung pictures of Tommy throughout the house — including one “right where they get dressed every morning,” so they can see him daily.

And she keeps a memory book in their respective backpacks so he is always within arm’s reach.

“That was one of the things that made me the most upset in the very beginning. What are the memories gonna be? That was the one thing I cried about for months and months,” Jacqueline said. “But at some point, you just have to trust that you’re doing everything you can to help them stay connected. You don’t have any other choice.”

Lola and Charlotte are standing outside Bicycle World behind a wooden lemonade stand — their pastel shirts helping them stand out on downtown Goldsboro’s busiest street.

The late Tommy King and his daughter, Lola.

FAMILY PHOTO

The line is moving slow because, well, the service is being handled by a 7- and 5-year-old, but for reasons they are still too young to understand, people are handing them bills that are far larger than the $1 it cost for a cup of their “gourmet” offering.

“Somebody gave me $100,” Lola said, a smile creeping across her face.

Charlotte pouts her lips.

“I didn’t get that much,” she said. “No fair.”

What they didn’t know is that their customers — from the little girl who gave up her $20 allowance to the adults passing along fives, tens, twenties and hundreds — were not paying for the lemonade and cookies.

Not really.

They were there to show support to the family of a man they said was always the first to step up for people in need by contributing to the fundraiser started in his memory, Two Wheelers for Tommy, which has provided bicycles to underprivileged children ever since his death.

“I think that every child needs a bike. It promotes family togetherness. It promotes physical activity and getting outside. So, this is a perfect thing for Tommy’s legacy to be tied to,” Jacqueline said. “But being out there, it was bittersweet. It’s sad because we miss him, but I’m glad that we have something that the community can get behind because there is a need.”

And while she still worries that because they were only 5 and 3 when Tommy passed, Lola and Charlotte might not remember him as they grow older, on that sunny day in downtown Goldsboro, a new set of memories were made as people told stories and let the girls know how special their dad was — moments Jacqueline believes will remind them, when they look back on it years from now, just how much their father was loved by his community.

“They won’t know at their young age what he did for this community. I don’t expect them to know. But it’s a chance for them to see all of Wayne County come together and say to the girls how great their dad was,” she said. “All we want is to hear people talk about him. That’s all you ever want when someone passes away. I want to hear people talk about him. You want to hear the stories. I want them to hear the stories. So, anytime we can get the community together and talk about Tommy, it’s the most beautiful thing that could possibly happen at this point.”

• • •

Inside Sweet Frog, Lola and Charlotte dig into mixtures of different flavored soft-serves and a smattering of toppings — from candy Legos to sour gummies.

A few minutes later, the sugar kicks in and as they chase each other around the store and climb on their mother, the weight of single motherhood is evident on Jacqueline’s face.

“You just love on them and make sure they’re as protected as they can be,” she says. “It’s not always

Continued on page 18

Lola and Charlotte King, 7 and 5, recently sold lemonade and cookies in downtown Goldsboro to raise money for a charity that memorializes their late father, Tommy. Above: A picture of the girls with their sister, Camryn, Tommy's daughter from his first marriage. PHOTOS BY CASEY MONZINGO

Lola and Charlotte have their sister, Camryn, to help them remember, too.

easy and I wish he was here, but I have to do my best for them.”

But it’s not just about getting through the day-to-day routine associated with raising young children. It’s being there for them while she, too, continues to grieve.

“I’m constantly worried about their mental health, you know? What are they feeling? How are they doing?” Jacqueline said. “They are too young to communicate the gravity of what they are feeling. But we get through it because we have no choice.”

And that makes moments like the day a cadre of friends and family helped them pull off an epic lemonade sale even more sweet. Not just because of the laughs and the smiles. Not just because it was a reminder of how much the community loved the man they lost far too soon.

But because Wayne County stepped up for a person who was always the first you called when you needed a hand — whether it was the United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp., or Communities Supporting Schools.

To Lola and Charlotte, with love

This message is for Lola and Charlotte. You might not be able to understand it now, but someday soon, you can read this and remember.

It is about memories. It is about looking beyond what you can see. And it is about hearts broken, mended and love that lasts forever.

It is about two other little kids who had to hear some very grownup news.

I was where you are right now. I held my little brother’s hand as my dad told us our mother was not coming home.

I was 5. He was 3. Just like you were.

We did not understand then — not completely.

We knew our dad was sad. And we knew our mom was sick.

And while we couldn’t grasp exactly what all of it meant, we knew the most important part.

Our mommy wasn’t there anymore.

But the rest, the really tough stuff, we were just too young to fathom — the hurt, the pain, the worry that was making our dad cry.

All we knew was that we missed her.

The years have passed, many of them, since that day nearly 54 years ago.

And it is not always easy remembering, especially for my brother who was so little.

But our mom lives on through the stories we hear and some of the memories we managed to hold onto. I wonder what life would have been like had she been here longer.

And I can see her sometimes, if I look really hard, when I look at my brother. He looks a lot like her.

Over the years, I have learned something — something important — and I am going to share that secret with you.

My mom isn’t really gone — and your dad is not either.

You will see him, if you look hard, and sometimes, if you are really, really quiet, you can hear him speaking to you.

He will be that nagging thought when you are trying to make a decision, or the comforting feeling when you are having a bad day.

He will show you he is there, and some people will think you are a little bit crazy when you tell them — a penny on the ground, a rainbow that fills the sky at just the right moment, or a cardinal peering in the window.

“He was never that person who was chairman of the board, but he was that person who every single board relied on,” Jacqueline said. “He was going to support them no matter what. And now, hopefully, the girls are starting to learn about that side of him.”

And when Two Wheelers for Tommy donates hundreds of bicycles later this year to children who would otherwise go without, Lola and Charlotte will be there — helmets on, ready to ride — alongside a mother forever grateful to the community that has spent the last two years helping her and her children heal.

Or it might just be a feeling of love that envelopes you for no reason at all.

To see your dad, you can look pictures your mom took of the three of you together. You are very, very lucky to have those. They can be your touchstone.

But you don’t need them. All you have to do is look with your heart.

Those who have lost someone they loved dearly know exactly what I am talking about. It is not something you can explain. It just happens.

We don’t talk about it often. Call it our superpower — the ability to understand that loves goes on, even when the physical body is gone.

Your dad is there. And he will be there for every big moment of your lives — when you go to middle school, when you finish high school and even when you go off to college. And you can bet, for sure, he will be there on your wedding day.

“It’s hard. Some days you’re fine and you don’t cry and some days, you don’t feel like doing anything,” Jacqueline said. “That’s part of what made that day so special. It was so much more than a cup of lemonade. For us, the family that is still going through so much grief, this community has no idea how much it did for us. When they’re older and they’re looking for connections, they are going to be able to remember that day and see that their community came together and supported their dad.” n

BY RENEE CAREY

All you have to do is keep an open heart, an open mind, and be ready to look for the quiet signs that so many people today are just too busy to see.

And there is another secret. You can talk to him, anytime you want.

And he will listen, I promise.

No daddy who loved his little girls as much as he loved you would ever be too far away.

You can call him an angel, if you like — someone who is looking after you, always.

You can have him with you every day, for the big stuff, the small stuff, the bad days and the good.

His place in your heart will never be gone — no matter how many years pass.

We are the lucky ones, you and I.

We know that we never really lose those who matter most.

Share the secret with your mom.

She will need you to help her remember. She has lost a piece of her heart, too.

You will have to navigate this journey together — through the pain, the anger, and even when it just doesn’t seem fair.

But don’t worry. Your dad will be there, too.

And yes, Jacqueline, you have the hard part, carrying on the memory while helping two little girls heal.

It isn’t easy. I know. I remember how hard it was for my dad.

But trust your girls and yourself. Their dad and your best friend will have your back — even when it seems like there is just too much to handle.

Let love be your guide. Let friends and family share the load.

And don’t be afraid to be sad — or mad — sometimes.

Memories and the good times will keep you going. No one who has not been where you are will ever understand just how hard that is sometimes.

But take comfort in this from a family who has been where you are. You will make it through.

We did. And it taught us a whole lot about life, love and what really matters.

And remember, Tommy will be there, no matter what, cheering you on until you meet again.n

M-F: 10

6

Saturday: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Sunday:

the SPECTATOR

Dawg fight

The Princeton Bulldogs came to Goldsboro Tuesday evening and brought some firepower with them, beating the Cougars 10-0 in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Photos by Ken Fine

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