KENANSVILLE — When 18-year-old Kate Ward won the title of Miss North Carolina’s Teen 2025 on June 28 in High Point, it was the culmination of a years-long process that began in 2013 when she participated in the Carolina Princess (now Carolina Star) program, in which young girls are mentored by local Miss North Carolina and Miss North Carolina’s Teen titleholders. That “behind-the-scenes” look was all it took to hook her on the idea of one day entering the competition herself.

The Mount Olive Exchange Club installed new officers Tuesday night, July 15, also using the occasion to continue its support of the community by making donations to several nonprofits.

WARSAW — The Warsaw Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying three suspects involved in a series of coordinated thefts of lottery tickets and prepaid Visa gift cards across multiple jurisdictions in Eastern North Carolina.

The Pender County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have identified a large-scale Moldovan and Russian money laundering scheme.

WARSAW — The Warsaw Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying three suspects involved in a series of coordinated thefts of lottery tickets and prepaid Visa gift cards across multiple jurisdictions in Eastern North Carolina.

Peggy Ann Waters Hester, 88, of Mount Olive, passed away Monday July 8, 2025 at Kitty Askins Hospice Center.

The Goldsboro/Wayne Purple Heart Luncheon Committee will honor Goldsboro/Wayne Purple Heart recipients and their Guest Aug 2 at 11 a.m. at the Maxwell Convention Center, located at 3114 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro.

The approximately 450 people attending Friday’s Fourth of July celebration at Westbrook Park ranged in age from six months to 91 years — one person was even celebrating their July 4 birthday — and there were even visitors from as far away as Texas, Idaho and Thailand.