News

The Warsaw Police Department, in cooperation with the Jacksonville Police Department, Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Beulaville Police Department, Clinton Police Department, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE), and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), has identified three individuals believed to be responsible for a widespread fraud scheme targeting retail stores across Eastern North Carolina and multiple other states.

The town and its interim manager are asking for “the public’s patience” as they try to address issues found during a recent N.C. State Auditor’s investigation.

MOUNT OLIVE — The University of Mount Olive (UMO) is buzzing with excitement as nearly 1,000 traditional students, both new and returning, begin the 2025–2026 academic year. Move-in weekend brought energy and anticipation to campus as faculty, staff, and student volunteers welcomed families, assisted with unloading cars, and helped students settle into their residence halls. Community organizations, local businesses, and churches also joined in, offering refreshments, coupons, and words of encouragement to make the transition memorable.

Lately, you have been finding yourself grumbling, complaining, having no get up and go about yourself, blaming everyone and everything for your pitfalls, and you are just simply tired of what’s been dubbed the norm for you, and a “time looper” of repeated stagnation. Stagnation can affect one’s career, personal growth, walk with Christ, the economy, relationships, how you view the world and yourself, and it will leave you in a stuck state or experiencing a lack of development and progress.

Before most of us had our morning coffee, local high school football teams are grinding under the rising sun. As the summer heat intensifies, early morning practices and late afternoon practices are becoming a new normal. At Southern Wayne High School and North Dublin High School, the whistle blows promptly at 8:00 a.m. signaling more than just the start of practice. Meanwhile, other schools like Spring Creek High and James Kenan High take the field later with their practices kicking off around 5:00 p.m. when the day begins to cool but the work remains just as intense. With new coaches in place, these teams are on a mission to rebuild their identity and raise the bar for the season ahead.

RALEIGH — A new investigative report on the Town of Mount Olive from the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has made several findings and recommendations involving Mount Olive’s Water Department and municipal airport.

WILMINGTON — A Kenansville man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. On May 7, 2025, Dawan Dontra McKinzie pleaded guilty to the charges.

As we approach August, it is time to start preparing for managing pecan weevils as they will soon be emerging from the ground and into pecan trees. If you have already had pecans dropping prematurely out of your trees, it could very well be a sign that pecan weevils are now emerging from the ground. Pecan weevils typically emerge from the ground in August to September, often after a significant rainfall of 1” or more.

RALEIGH — North Carolina is in a mess. It was an entirely predictable mess. Indeed, I and others have been predicting it for more than two years. But former Gov. Roy Cooper, coming soon to a U.S. Senate race near you, and lawmakers of both parties didn’t listen. They expanded Medicaid to include hundreds of thousands of childless, able-bodied North Carolinians — without a realistic means of paying the bill.

Duplin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Austin Obasohan died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He had served as superintendent for 15 years, and in 2024, his contract was extended by the Board of Education until 2028.