The numbers are in, and they speak — loudly — for themselves. Wayne County Public Schools has been designated a Low-Performing District, according to standards set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The district’s report card — released…
City cops, firefighters, told to settle for “Plan B”
They only put together a second plan to appease City Manager Tim Salmon. Both Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West and Fire Chief Ron Stempien admitted as much to members of the Goldsboro City Council several weeks ago. The truth, they…
It’s time we heard from Larry Pierce
Confidence and trust. They are essential in any leadership position, but they are critical in a public official. When they are lost, or considerably shaken, that means something. And we think that is exactly what has happened at the Wayne…
Behind the badge
RALEIGH — A law enforcement officer watches as, upon his request, a drug trafficker threatens the lawman’s 17-year-old daughter’s boyfriend. The same officer sells guns he seized from drug raids — firearms he never logged as evidence — on gunbroker.com, a…
Gators smother Saints
The Southern Wayne High School varsity boys soccer team showed up in Seven Springs as the favorite, but that didn’t stop Spring Creek from putting on a defensive clinic against the Saints to secure a 1-0 victory. The following photographs…
Wanted: Real leaders at critical moments
Sometimes, it takes a leader to point out the elephant in the room. You heard it this week when Wayne County Public Schools’ new superintendent stated the obvious: many WCPS facilities are in extreme disrepair and there might have to…
Through his lens of hope
Deontay Hooker pulls back a Velcro strap and looks down at his wrist. He knows there are only 30 seconds on the clock — that his team might need a divine intervention to overcome the three-point deficit its facing, that…
Former, current WCSO deputies indicted by federal grand jury
A former and current Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy have been indicted by a federal grand jury. According to the indictment, Michael Kenneth Cox, 48, and Christopher Worth, 52, were each indicted on 12 separate fraud charges stemming from an alleged…
School board takes an epic roadtrip
Want to know what happens when there is no one holding a school board to account and a puppet chairman is being fooled into believing he is in charge while he and a self-important, wanna-be power broker get their egos…
Ds + Fs = Low-Performing District
It would be easy to hurl a scathing bunch of similes and metaphors to describe the shock and horror of the report card Wayne County Public Schools brought home this week. And it would be just as easy to start…