Obituary: Margaret Lucile Davis

Margaret Lucile Davis, age 90, of Kinston, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at Kitty Askins Hospice Center in Goldsboro, surrounded by the love and prayers of her family. Visitation will be held at Edwards Funeral Home on Thursday, August 28, 2025, beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Brian Rogers officiating. Interment will follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Kinston.

Kinston, La Grange and other cities pay off electric debt, future rate impacts uncertain

A debt that has weighed on Kinston, La Grange and 30 other eastern North Carolina communities for more than four decades has finally been retired.

The North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA) first issued $3.2 billion in debt in 1982 to buy ownership stakes in power plants, securing long-term electricity for its member cities. That decision gave towns like Kinston more control over power supply, but it also left them with some of the highest electric rates in North Carolina.