A Mount Olive Tribune Editorial

Yes please.

Those words need to be echoed by every resident who lives in Warsaw and beyond its borders to local, state and national lawmakers as they voice their support for a possible rail stop in the small Duplin County town.

It is what rail officials are seeking as they begin narrowing down where stops along a Raleigh-to-Wilmington train route would be. Plans, dozens in attendance at a Feb. 20 meeting about the rail proposal were told, are to have a stop in every county along the route.

Warsaw could be one of those stops, particularly if residents and local officials provide vocal support for the plan.

And why not support it? It can be nothing but a win-win for the town and, actually for Duplin and surrounding counties, like Sampson and Wayne, whose residents could — and likely would — take advantage of rail travel along that route. That would be particularly true if a stop were in Warsaw, less than an hour’s travel from either county.

And imagine, if you will, the economic impact such a hub could bring to a town like Warsaw and its small businesses. Not only will it bring people from other areas of the state into the town, it would inject enthusiasm and show others what the area has to offer.

And there is plenty to offer.

Small business owners in Warsaw are loyal to the town, work hard to make their storefronts, and thus the downtown, look alive and welcoming. Those same individuals are constantly working on events to draw people into the town limits to visit, shop and breathe new life into the area.

A rail stop in Warsaw would be invigorating.

While the route hasn’t gotten legs just yet, there is much support for a Raleigh-to-Wilmington route.

Wilmington entrepreneurs Steve Unger and Gene Merritt opened last week’s meeting with an introduction to the nonprofit organization they’ve formed, Eastern Carolina Rail, for the purpose of helping the Wilmington-to-Raleigh service become a reality.

Similar meetings have also been held in Burgaw and Wallace, and others are planned for Goldsboro and possibly Selma. “That’s sort of the route that we’re looking at: Selma, Goldsboro, Warsaw, Wallace, Burgaw, Wilmington from Raleigh,” Merritt noted during the Feb. 20 meeting. “That’s not cast in concrete and that decision will be made in the final analysis by the state DOT.

“We believe that the establishment of this railroad will be an economic and social benefit to the town of Warsaw,” Merritt continued. “We believe that it will be good for the downtown area and the area as a generalization. But it will also be a source of affordable transportation for the people of eastern North Carolina. So, we need your support. The more you let everyone know that you support this idea, the better chance it has of happening.”

Unger, too, pointed out the far-reaching effects the project would have. “One of the cool things about the railroad coming through here is, it will serve Faison, it will serve Clinton, it’ll serve Kenansville, it’ll serve the other surrounding towns, and it’ll be a boost to the entire area.”

And because of those far-reaching tentacles and the tremendous impact it could have on Warsaw, we hope residents there and in neighboring counties will go all-out to help make the service and the stop a reality.

The voices of a community are impactful. Using that voice for something with such far-reaching possibilities seems a no-brainer.

We encourage each resident to call their local, state and national representatives, bend their ears often about a stop in Warsaw and the need for the route, and don’t let up until a possibility becomes a reality.