CapeFearNewspapers.com » Wallace Enterprise

Deputies nab Beulaville man on drug charges

Michael Staton — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:59:26 +0000

A Beulaville man faces drug-related charges after being arrested last Thursday by Duplin County sheriff’s deputies serving a warrant.
Sheriff Blake Wallace made the announcement during a press conference Monday at the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office.
In jail in lieu of $285,000 bond is Lonnie Clark Duff, 32, of 774 Corn Mill Road, Beulaville.

Capt. Tim Jones of the sheriff’s Uniform Division and Lt. Chuck Weaver of the Patrol Division stand behind a display of items discovered while arresting Lonnie Clark Duff of Beulaville last week. (Photo by Michael Staton)

Also arrested at the scene was Christina Noel Babbert, 25, of Quinn Store Road, Beulaville, who was with Duff at the time of his arrest.
Duff was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance without prescription, trafficking in methamphetamine, maintaining a vehicle for the trafficking of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.
Babbert was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and assaulting and striking a deputy while the deputy was transporting her from the magistrate’s office to Duplin County Jail.
She was released from jail after posting $40,000 bond.
When deputies went to Duff’s residence, they found Duff and Babbert in his Dodge pickup truck. Prescription pills were found in his pocket, according to Wallace. Deputies say he gave permission to search his truck where they found methamphetamine. According to the sheriff, the methamphetamine was found inside a MacDonald’s pie package.
They searched his residence after obtaining a search warrant and found a glass smoking device and scale as well as marijuana, deputies say.
Previous to his arrest, Duff had been the subject of an ongoing sheriff’s investigation, Wallace said.
Duff has served time in prison from 2004 to 2007 and was out on probation. Deputies were serving the warrant because Duff’s probation officer alleged he had violated conditions of his probation.
“Just because you’ve served time and been released doesn’t mean you’re off our radar,” Wallace said.
Duff’s case has been turned over to federal court officials in Wilmington.

2011 Duplin redistricting map draws close to reality

Michael Staton — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:56:40 +0000

With some tweaking the Duplin County Board of Commissioners and the Duplin County Board of Education should soon have a 2011 district map.
The Redistricting Committee took a look on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at two redistricting plans put together by Dan Cronin, the county’s map maker. The plans were called A and C.
Committee members evaluated the two plans and chose plan C, according to County Manager Mike Aldridge.
Plan C appeared to offer few boundary problems, especially in Kenansville, Magnolia and Warsaw, Aldridge said.
Districts 1 and 5 share Kenansville. Magnolia is split between districts 5 and 6. Districts 5 and 6 divide up Warsaw. Aldridge said two recent Warsaw annexations are in District 1, but they contain no voters.
If the 2001 district map and the map called plan C are compared, they outwardly look similar, but there are important differences. The six districts are more geographically compact in plan C. That’s what the state legislature is requiring … no gerrymandering.
Aldridge wanted to recognize the earlier hard work of state Rep. Jimmy Dixon that gave the committee a head start.
“Rep. Dixon really helped us out with the work he did up in Raleigh,” Aldridge said. “Otherwise, the committee would have been starting out essentially with a blank piece of paper.”
The next meeting will be held Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Cooperative Extension building near the Events Center.
Once the district map is finalized, it will need to be adopted by the Duplin County Commission by Dec. 4. The new districts will be effective upon adoption of the resolution.
A resolution adopted by the December date will become the basis for the 2012 elections. That assumes that preclearance is obtained by Feb. 13, 2012. The filing period for county elections opens on Feb. 13.
A resolution that is adopted after the Dec. 4 date will not apply to the 2012 elections, but will apply to the 2014 elections.
Thanks to legislation Dixon spearheaded through the General Assembly earlier this year, Duplin County will soon have a seventh at-large county commissioner and a seventh at-large school board member.

Thrills and excitement abound at Duplin Agribusiness Fair

Michael Staton — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:55:57 +0000

The Duplin Agribusiness Fair has been underway since Wednesday.
The Duplin County Events Center is surrounded by Dreamland Amusements’ rides – roller coaster, ferris wheel and other thrill rides.
Farm-related exhibits mostly overseen by the Duplin County Cooperative Extension can be perused inside the Events Center. Be sure to have a look at the top finishers in their respective categories.
Roustabouts for Dreamland Amusements were busy Monday and Tuesday setting up the rides for the five-day fair.
At the same time, the exhibitors were busy setting up their exhibits. The exhibits were divided into five categories:
Division I, educational exhibits;
Division II, field crops;
Division III, horticulture products;
Division IV, family and consumer sciences;
Division V, livestock;
Division VI, youth.
The Duplin County Livestock Show gets underway today at 6 p.m. with the Market Kid Show and continues Saturday.
The age categories for the livestock show are novice (ages 8 and under), junior (ages 9 to 13) and senior (ages 14 to 19). The youth will be showing lambs, kids and heifers. There will be grand champions, reserve champions and showmanship class.
The Stetson Band from Kenansville will perform tonight at 7 p.m. followed by fireworks.
Saturday promises to be an exciting day at the county fair. It begins at 10 a.m. with a hunter safety competition as well as the livestock show’s Market Lamb Show.
At 2 p.m. Saturday, the livestock show’s Heifer Show will take center stage at the Events Center.
The Idle Threat Band from Goldsboro then performs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Get ready for more fireworks, this time at 10 p.m. Saturday.
The entertainment for Sunday is billed as the Gospel Music Extravaganza. The show runs from 1 p.m.to 8 p.m. The groups include Plays Out Loud from Clinton, Bill Lewis from Virginia, Marksmen Quartet from Clinton, Tim Bass from Warsaw, LaManual Boykin & Company from Clinton, Renee Hoxie from Rose Hill and Bethel Wesleyan Church Praise and Worship Group from Rose Hill.
Cheerleading demonstration, sponsored by Duplin County schools, were held Wednesday and Thursday.

Fans enjoy camaraderie of Wesley concert

Michael Staton — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:54:54 +0000

A small but enthusiastic crowd danced, shouted and clapped as country star James Wesley performed on stage at Saturday’s Hope for the Warriors’ music festival at River Landing, held as part of the nonprofit’s observance of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

Wesley’s fans danced as the country star and his band played the songs they loved. (Photo by Michael Staton)

Wesley told them he loved performing before smaller crowds because he it gives him a chance to interact better with his fans.
He encouraged them to get closer to the stage and they did.
One mother sat her child on the edge of the stage while a photographer took photos of her and her daughter. Wesley leaned down and posed with them as he sang.
Several young women took up theatrical poses before the stage for boyfriends or husbands with cameras.
When he announced that his next song would be his hit “Real,” the crowd shouted its approval.
“I thank the troops every time I sing this song,” he told his fans, many of them active duty military and their families or veterans and their families.
They were all there in support of Hope For The Warriors and its cause – supporting wounded service members, their families and the families of the fallen.
Wesley said he too was glad to be on stage supporting Hope For The Warriors.
“We drove straight here from Nashville,” he told the crowd, turning to his fellow band members. “What time did we leave?”
The musicians shrugged.
Wesley laughed. “They don’t know. I’m thinking it was 10 p.m. last night.”
While folks danced and clapped to his songs and the songs of other artists like Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash, small kids darted in and out of the crowd, playing tag.
Between songs, Wesley spoke about his respect and admiration for wounded warriors like retired Army National Guard SSG Dale Beatty, Navy SEAL Lt. Jason Redman and Marine Capt. Ryan Voltin.
“I’ve been blown away by what I’ve seen,” Wesley said, adding that they are “real” heroes.
Earlier in the night Beatty had played drums in the band Southern Fried Musicians Association, which performed between the Wilmington band Bald Fury and Wesley.
Redman had a display set up at the concert for his two-year-old business, Wounded Wear. He and his wife were selling Wounded Wear t-shirts to festival-goers as a fund-raising effort. Redman provided at least one clothing kit to a fellow wounded warrior – Manuel Jimenez who lost his left arm in Afghanistan.
While undergoing reconstruction and recovery, Redman struggled to find clothing he could wear around the medical devices necessary for healing. Thus was born Wounded Wear and the desire to provide clothing, uniforms and modifications as necessary to the nation’s wounded warriors.
Redman hopes to get a store chain to sell the brand. He hasn’t approached any chains yet. He’s waiting until Wounded Wear gets further exposure and good publicity.
Just before James Wesley began performing, Pepsi in partnership with CVS stores in North Carolina contributed $50,000 to Hope For the Warriors. A check presentation took place on the stage.
Earlier Saturday, Hope For The Warriors held the 9/11 Hope Classic Golf Tournament and the 9/11 Run For The Warriors 5K Race.
A morning worship service was held at 9 a.m. Sunday followed by the Hope Ride Motorcycle Poker Run at 11 a.m.
A group of military wives founded Hope For The Warriors in North Carolina in 2006. While headquartered in North Carolina, the organization maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Its representatives cover Texas, California, Florida, Illinois and Wyoming.

Human trafficking festers as growing problem

Michael Staton — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:53:01 +0000

She ran away at age 14, tired of a stepfather who pawed her and a mother who preferred to ignore the problem.
Within 72 hours, a sweet guy had befriended her, offering her meals and a place to stay. This new life wouldn’t be so bad, she thought.
Her honey bought nice clothes for her; she just couldn’t believe her good luck.

Pam Strickland, founder of Eastern NC Stop Human Trafficking Now, was a recent guest speaker at the Lois G. Britt Agriculture Center in Kenansville.

But then he handed her a bill for those clothes, the meals and the lodging and told her she’d need to pay her debts.
She balked. He showed her a photograph of the two of them in bed and said he’d email it to her grandparents who she loved dearly. They knew nothing of the sexual abuse and the photo would break their hearts.
So she agreed to his plans and pleasured the men he brought to her. And it wasn’t so bad as long as she forced the plastic smiles, always said sweet nothings to the men and never made her honey angry.
This girl isn’t real, but a composite of teenage runaways who invariably end up prostitutioned by lowlife pimps and other creeps who are the real villains in this ugly, horrible story. That’s what Pam Strickland, founder of Eastern NC Stop Human Trafficking Now, told folks gathered last Wednesday evening at Ed Emory Auditorium in the Lois G. Britt Agriculture Center in Kenansville.
Strickland said it’s important that these underage American girls and boys never receive blame for the crime of prostitution. They are victims, she stressed. Yet some police departments still arrest them. Instead of a juvenile detention facility, they need to be in a shelter getting the help and counseling they need.
The Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act in 2000. The legislation has to be reauthorized every few years, and it needs to be reauthorized this year…in fact this month, according to Strickland. Part of the federal trafficking bill is a provision that would call for the establishment of four shelters across the nation.
Many of the teens who end up in enforced prostitution come from the foster home system, according to Strickland. They’re there because they come from broken homes and usually have ended up in the juvenile court system.
Strickland gave a roundup of the state of human trafficking today not just in the U.S., but throughout the world. She provided the technical definition of human trafficking as the “illegal trade and transport of human being through forceful or coercive means, for the purpose of exploitation. That usually means the victims are forced into sexual slavery or forced labor. Forced labor can mean working at hotels, restaurants, nail salons, sweatshops and farms.
In the first decade of the 21st Century, human trafficking is the modern version of slavery.
Organizations like Strickland’s group exist all across the nation as well as internationally. They want to energize grassroots support that results in pressure put on politicians and law enforcement to go after human trafficking’s villains.
They also want to see everyday people change their buying habits and not purchase things made by 21st century slaves in overseas sweatshops.
Strickland held up a $4 t-shirt offered for sale by a well-known superstore chain. She said people can help out in the cause by just being aware and not buying cheap goods that probably were made by coerced laborers forced to work in sweatshops. Instead, they can buy “Fair Trade” merchandise.
“Be part of the solution,” Strickland advised people.
Last week’s meeting was sponsored by the Duplin County Cooperative Extension, the Duplin County Library Board and the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office. A planning committee has been established to evaluate forming anti-human trafficking organization in Duplin County.
The next anti-human trafficking meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m. in the Lois G. Britt Agriculture Center’s Ed Emory Auditorium.

Ekberg’s Events Center presentation proves brutally honest

Michael Staton — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:37:08 +0000

Events Center Coordinator Lacey Ekberg called her presentation Tuesday to the Duplin County Board of County Commissioners “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”
The good? The center will be in use through most of the rest of 2011.
The Duplin County Fair and the Muscadine Festival are coming up later in September, and they promise some good publicity. Although a contract has yet to be signed, the Marshall Tucker Band has agreed to return to the Events Center Jan. 27 of next year for a concert. The band’s outside concert in late July for the Freedom Festival had to be canceled due to lightning.
When discussing the bad and the ugly, Ekberg didn’t pull any punches with the county commissioners. Bookings like wedding reception while great “do not pay the bills,” she said. Ekberg told the commissioners that it will be a difficult sell to convince promoters to risk bringing big-name bands to the Kenansville facility.
The center has a reputation of poor ticket sales. In addition, the January 2010 Willie Nelson concert fiasco remains in the memory of promoters. At the Events Center, the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement cited members of Willie Nelson’s band for possession of moonshine and a misdemeanor amount of marijuana, and the concert ended up being canceled.
Ekberg said promoters have basically given her one year to prove the viability of the Events Center.
“Promoters don’t want their artists to lose money,” she said.
Success will be reflected in the number of tickets sold, Ekberg added.
“It’s Hollywood,” she said. “It’s what you have to deal with.”
Building the Events Center was controversial. Even now 70 percent of the residents of Duplin County don’t know or care that the Events Center is open, according to an Events Center survey.
That means Ekberg can’t rely on Duplin County residents to fill the seats of the Events Center, but instead will have to direct her marketing efforts at outside the county.
“This building hasn’t been used appropriately for six years,” she said.
Ekberg is now in the process of developing a strategic plan that will include organizational and management changes as well as marketing tactics.
“Starting today let’s move forward. Let’s forget the Willie Nelson issue,” she said.
In a perfect world, Ekberg would like to see the Events Center be self-sufficient in five years.
Ekberg said she supports something like a revolving fund for the Events Center so that money can be sunk back into it.

Animal ordinance committee formed to hammer out compromise

Michael Staton — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:36:41 +0000

The Duplin County Board of County Commissioners decided Tuesday to form a committee to hammer out revisions to an animal control ordinance.
The commissioners said they want the committee to report back to them in a month or two with changes agreeable to both the Pet Friends of Duplin County and area hunting associations.
The committee is to be made up of six individuals from the Pet Friends of Duplin County and the hunting associations.
Duplin County Animal Control Officer Joe Newburn brought the latest version of his proposed animal control ordinance to Tuesday’s county commissioner meeting. He said the law is designed to help him deal with two worsening problems – dogs not being vaccinated and dogs running loose and impregnating other dogs, many kept in their owners’ yards.
Newburn stressed the proposed ordinance will not adversely impact the county’s hunters.
Nonetheless, hunters at Tuesday’s meeting thought the ordinance was too restrictive and would cause problems with hunters. The hunters who spoke during a public hearing Tuesday mentioned two sections of the law – one that deals with loud barking during night-time hours and one that could, hunters fear, impact free roaming hunting dogs.
Newburn, though, said those provisions of the law are designed for enforcement in more populous areas of Duplin County, not in rural areas where hunters raise hunting dogs and use them while hunting.
Catherine Hale, president of the Pet Friends of Duplin County, spoke in favor of the animal ordinance. She said the uncontrolled growth of unwanted dogs and cats is a huge problem in Duplin County, and the animal law, if adopted, would help rein in the crisis by allowing Newburn to target the offenders with stiff fines.
In the last couple of years, Pet Friends of Duplin County have rounded up around 600 unwanted dogs and cats and transported adoptable ones to no-kill shelters. To make her point, she asked Newburn how many unwanted dogs are euthanized in Duplin County per year. He said approximately 1,200 dogs.
The overpopulation of unwanted dogs and cats are caused by people who can’t be bothered with fixing their pets. They leave litters on porches, at the animal shelter and on street corners.
Newburn said he tried earlier to use a committee to put together an animal ordinance agreeable to all parties and the effort failed.
Hunting association representatives, though, said an animal ordinance committee was successful in Pender County, and advised Duplin officials to take a look at the law Pender officials adopted.

Saturday ushers in weekend of 9/11 remembrance

Michael Staton — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:36:16 +0000

It’s just one more day until area patriots will get the chance to honor the memories of those who perished 10 years ago inside the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers and the servicemen and servicewomen who answered the nation’s call and fought – and sometimes died or were wounded – in the War on Terror.
For the next two days at River Landing, Hope For The Warriors 9/11 Weekend will offer attendees a cornucopia of events including a music festival, memorial service and motorcycle run.
Proceeds will benefit Hope For The Warriors, which supports wounded U.S. service members, their families and families of the fallen. Pepsi and CVS are the presenting sponsors for the Hope For The Warriors 9/11 Weekend.
Roustabouts will soon be setting up the sound equipment required for the James Wesley concert that will be held at The Vineyards of River Landing. The gates open at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Country performer Wesley is famous for his hit “Real.” He has been singing since the age of three. It was while in college that Wesley decided to try to make a living as a country singer. But the income wasn’t as big as he had hoped.
He sang at a hotel on the west side of Independence, Kan. He was paid $50 before expenses, but he had to rent equipment that cost $45. Wesley cleared $5 bucks.
He met his wife in Eureka, Ark., where her family had a country music variety show. He worked there for a few years. His brother-in-law cleaned the theater while Wesley took care of everything on the outside including cleaning the bathrooms.
Wesley performed in the show and ran a landscape business on the side. That work ethic eventually led to stardom. He moved to Nashville and chased his dream.
Wesley has been involved in a myriad of charity projects and local tours, ready to do his part for Hope For The Warriors.
Also performing Saturday evening are Southern Fried Musicians Association and Bald Fury. Southern Fried Musicians Association’s drummer is a real American hero. Staff Sgt. Dale Beatty, NCARNG (Ret.), was injured by a roadside landmine while serving in Iraq. Since his rehabilitation from a double amputation and return to the band, they have been performing and writing music.
The concert and memorial ceremony are just two of the weekend events. The 9/11 Classic Golf Tournament and the 9/11 Run For The Warriors 5K kick off the festivities on Saturday morning.
Sunday morning begins with a worship service and is followed by the 9/11 Hope Ride, a motorcycle poker run created to honor those lost on 9/11 and the thousands of local service members.
The mission of Hope For The Warriors is to enhance quality of life for U.S. service members and their families nationwide who have been adversely affected by injuries or death in the line of duty. Hope For The Warriors seeks to ensure that the sacrifices of wounded and fallen warriors and their families are never forgotten nor their needs unmet.

9/11 terrorist attacks steal Americans’ cockiness

Michael Staton — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:32:12 +0000

A decade ago at this time Americans were a cocky bunch.
A few months earlier in 2001, people were celebrating the 1991 Desert Storm victory. In 2001 Allied aircraft were enforcing no-fly zones inside Iraq.
While there were terrorist acts like the attack on the U.S.S. Cole and the truck bomb attacks on American embassies in East Africa, Americans had come to believe their shores were safe from al-Qaeda terrorism.
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 changed everything.

Freedom Tower rises from what had been the ruins of Ground Zero. (Photo submitted)

On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and nearly 3,000 of those working in the buildings. Both towers collapsed within two hours. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Hijackers had redirected the fourth plane toward Washington, D.C., targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House, but crashed it in a field near H Shanksville, Pa., after passengers tried to take control of the plane.
Folks in Wallace remember that day vividly.
Mayor Charles Farrior was working in his downtown store, Farriors Flooring and Interiors, planning a floor installation, when his wife Harriet arrived with the shocking news that a passenger jet had crashed into the World Trade Center.
“I certainly wondered what in the world was going on,” Farrior said. “It was a day that was hard to comprehend. It was a day of immense emotion.”
Farrior said seeing the towers collapse filled him with compassion for the people dying and for the families who lost loved ones. He mentioned the bravery of the firefighters and rescue personnel. Among the 2,753 victims who died in the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority, and eight private emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
Ten years ago Town Manager Matt Livingston worked for Franklin County’s Planning and Inspection Department. On Sept. 11, 2001, Livingston was driving a county truck to Franklinton to deliver maps when he turned on the radio and learned that an aircraft had hit one of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
“We weren’t sure if it was a terrorist attack, but then when the second tower was struck it became obvious,” Livingston said.
Livingston realized the terrorist attacks would mean major changes for the nation including the possibility of going to war. He served in the Coast Guard Reserve. In fact, he still serves in the Coast Guard Reserve.
“I wondered if I’d get call up,” Livingston said.
He was, serving for several months at Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal, overseeing loadouts of bombs bound for the Middle East.
Like many of us back on that Tuesday 10 years ago, Wallace Fire Chief Thomas Townsend watched the terrorist attacks unfold on television. The attacks left him “very, very upset,” he said.
Perhaps a month after 9/11, the Wallace Fire Department hosted several New York City firefighters for a weekend. They saw a high school football game and took part in several other activities, Townsend said. A volunteer firefighter from Wallace flew an aircraft up to New York City where he picked up the NYFD firefighters.
“Two of the firefighters were actually helping rescue people from the World Trade Center,” Townsend said.
Hope For The Warriors 9/11 Weekend will be held at River Landing this weekend. Events including a music festival, memorial service and motorcycle run are planned for Saturday and Sunday. Proceeds from the weekend will benefit Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit organization that supports wounded U.S. service members, their families and families of the fallen.
Gates open at 3 p.m. Saturday for the music festival headlined by country performer James Wesley. The festival will be held at The Vineyards of River Landing.

Local officials give themselves high grades for hurricane response

Michael Staton — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:05:03 +0000

Emergency management officials in Duplin County gave themselves high marks for their response to Hurricane Irene.
Duplin County Emergency Management Coordinator Reid Southerland gave county law enforcement, emergency medical services personnel and firefighters a grade of A for their pre-planning and their response during and after the hurricane.

Gardens in Wallace and elsewhere in Duplin County were decimated by Hurricane Irene’s high winds. (Photos by Michael Staton)

“We did a pretty good job,” Southerland said. “In fact we came out better than what we originally thought we did.”
When contacted Tuesday afternoon, Southerland was awaiting confirmation that Duplin County had been declared a major disaster county by federal officials. The declaration would make Duplin County eligible for Public Assistance, a cost-share reimbursement program for local governments. FEMA pays 75 percent of the cost of eligible projects and the state pays the 25 percent nonfederal share for eligible emergency measures, debris removal and repair and replacement of public facilities damaged by the storm.
Wallace Town Manager Matt Livingston echoed Livingston’s words, saying town officials were “very, very pleased’ with pre-hurricane preparations and actions taken during and after Hurricane Irene’s progress through eastern North Carolina.
“Things went without a hitch thanks to good advance preparation,” Livingston said.
Livingston said Wallace firefighters held a debriefing Tuesday where they reviewed how well they carried out their portion of the town’s emergency preparedness plan. The town government’s department heads were to hold a debriefing Wednesday night at the Town Hall, Livingston added.
Southerland said Hurricane Irene caused minor flooding in some low-lying areas, extensive crop damage, structure damage due to trees falling on houses and damage to turkey, chicken and hog houses.
Preliminary damage assessments were estimated at around $28 million, according to Southerland. He gave a breakdown of $18 million for crop damage, $5 million for residential structure damage and $5 million in damage to farm animal buildings.
In Wallace, town officials, firefighters and police worked around the clock during Hurricane Irene. The winds, some clocked at low hurricane force but most at 40-60 mph, sheared limbs from trees and in some cases uprooted whole trees. Five houses suffered damage from falling trees, Livingston estimated.
About 80 percent of Wallace residents were without power at the height of the storm, but as of Tuesday most if not all residents had power restored. Limbs falling on electrical lines caused most of the outages, Livingston said.
The town manager was quite pleased that the wastewater treatment plant didn’t suffer a spill. Other towns in Duplin County were not so lucky, according to Livingston.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said Hurricane Irene destroyed more than a thousand homes in Eastern Carolina. She put a preliminary damage estimate of $70 million.
Immediately after the hurricane, Highway 24 was closed in both directions west of Warsaw due to downed power lines. There were also reports of heavy flooding on Highway 24 near Josh Sessions Road. Near Wallace, Highway 117 near Wallace had been closed temporarily due to downed power lines, according to state Department of Transportation officials. But roads in Duplin County are now reported back to normal.
Progress Energy said about 44,500 customers were still without electricity on Tuesday compared with a peak of 280,000 without power at the storm’s height. All customers should have had power restored by Wednesday.
As of our Tuesday deadline, Four County Electric Membership Corporation reported only a few individual outages remaining.
A new named storm, Tropical Storm Katia, has formed in the Atlantic, but it’s too early to tell if it could head for the East Coast.