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Sadly for the second year in a row, the Kinston City Council has sought these personal increases, yet this year's discussion is distracting from the fact that they are also raising property taxes. The cost to the taxpayers if approved would be $670,000. Despite the fact the Kinston City Council has already voted on their increases, they could amend the budget tonight, by stripping the salaries and allowances back to the FY20 funding and passing a revised budget.
The following restaurant inspections were conducted by the Lenoir County Health Department:
Lenoir County Manager Michael James released the fiscal year 2021-2022 recommended operating and capital budget for Lenoir County. The County Commissioners voted unanimously at the last meeting to approve the proposed budget. The next fiscal year’s budget maintains the existing tax rate of $0.845 per $100 of valuation.
Governor Roy Cooper announced that he signed an Executive Order to extend a variety of measures currently in place to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic until July 30.
Junior Master Gardener students visited Signature Healthcare on Thursday. They planted herbs in 3 pots for the residents to enjoy. Each student gave a short talk on 1-2 of the 7 herbs. Residents of Signature Healthcare were also treated to a song, "Parts of the Plant".
It’s a season of growth for Kinston teenager Killen Harper as she celebrates six months of her unique non-profit organization, Carolina Greens. Since January 2021, Killen has turned her family’s backyard on Stockton Rd. into a compact, productive garden growing vegetables she donates to Mary’s Kitchen and Greenville’s JOY Soup Kitchen.
Tuesday, June 8th the Kinston High School Men’s and Women’s track teams won the 2021 Conference Title. Competing against local teams like North Lenoir, Ayden-Grifton, and West Craven, Kinston High came out on top with the women at 146 and the men reaching 137.
Thursday, June 10th, Crown Manufacturing and Lenoir County Public Schools announced that Gavin Pittman, Connor MacIntosh, Austin Rivenbark, and Elijah Stroud are the 2021 recipients of the Youth Apprenticeship Program.
After two weeks away from Grainger Stadium, the Down East Wood Ducks return home for their first 12-game homestand of the 2021 season!
Looking for something to do this Summer? Join our Summer Reading Programs! Here's what's happening at a location near you:
Wyse Fork Fire Department broke ground at 1155 Neuse Road in Kinston for their second fire station on Monday.
“Today is the groundbreaking on our station two for Wyse Fork department,” said Wyse Fork Chief Donnie Gray Jr. “It’s going to serve as an immediate resource to this area of our fire district.”
Gray hopes the building is completed in time for hurricane season.
“The significance of this station is that, in the last hurricanes that we've had, particularly Caswell Station Road and then Causey Road, have flooded and we've had to do a lot of boat rescues,” said Lenoir County Commissioner J. Mac Daughety.
The following businesses were registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State:
Kinston City manager Tony Sears released his budget recommendations to Council at the meeting on June 1, 2021. A proposed increase in Property Tax from $0.73 to $0.77 per $100 valuation is included in the 2021-2022 City Budget. The budget also includes a $3,600 increase to the Mayor’s salary and the total line item increase in City Council members’ salaries is $18,000 total per year, also $3,600 each for the year. This is more than a 40% increase over previous years. In addition to the salary increases, the Board Member Allowance increased 44.98% to $19,422.
“The City Council and myself worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Hardy. “When you start talking about advocating resources for vaccinations and food drives, COVID-19 testing, and organizing boots on the ground trying to get people vaccinated.”
A family who was visiting the Neuseway Nature Center had a turn of events when the daughter fell off the dock into the water. What started out as a relaxing day in the park, escalated into someone screaming for help.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced more than 80% of adults 65 and older in the state have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
A section of a Lenoir County road will be closed for about two weeks while N.C. Department of Transportation crews replace a pipe.
Rep. Chris Humphrey (R-Lenoir, Pitt) announced his election to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Visitors.
Looking for something to do this Summer? Join our Summer Reading Programs! Here's what's happening at a location near you:
Looking for something to do this Summer? Join our Summer Reading Programs! Here's what's happening at a location near you:
Multiple intersections in Lenoir County will undergo safety improvements early next week, weather permitting.
