Justin Hill Kinston Free Press July 15, 2012 Over the past year, there have been countless tours of the Woodmen Center. What started with Bill Ellis, director of the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department, pointing to where the basketball courts or exercise equipment or locker rooms would be located has slowly evolved into tangible locations around the $13 million, 58,000-square-foot complex. With a week to go before the opening, the tours that have been scheduled for this week are perhaps the most important toward ensuring the long term stability of the Woodmen of the World’s first community center. Starting…
Community
Justin Hill Kinston Free Press In the midst of the U.S. Congress’ late summer break, N.C. District 1 representative G.K. Butterfield has spent time in his district this week visiting constituents and presenting grants. On Wednesday, he made stops in Kinston and Snow Hill. “As many of you know, North Carolina has long, deep roots in music, dating back to some of the greats such as (Hamlet-born) John Coltrane,” he said. “It is only fitting that we commemorate the legacy of musicians from this great state with a landmark to the thread of African-American music, weaved into the rich cultural…
David Anderson Staff Writer Kinston Free Press In the coming weeks, the construction workers who have been a fixture off Hull Road in Kinston for the last two years will depart, and be replaced by those hired to staff the state’s newly-opened veterans’ nursing home. It’s a project which has been five years in the making — county officials hosted a groundbreaking in 2007. “I’m excited,” said George Graham, chairman of the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. “We’ve had a lot of people call and inquire about procedures to apply for a job up there. … There have been all…
September 21, 2011 David Anderson Staff Writer, Kinston Free Press Drawings were unveiled Tuesday showing a water park slated for Kinston, which its promoters hope will be “the best east of Greensboro.” That was the hope of Kinston Interim City Manager Bill Ellis, who presided over Tuesday’s announcement of the commencement of construction of the Woodmen of the World Community Center and its adjoining water park. “I think this project will change Kinston and Lenoir County,” Ellis told an audience of local officials, civic leaders and Woodmen of the World representatives gathered at the Kinston-Lenoir County Visitors and Information Center….
David Anderson Free Press Staff Writer In essence, a skid board is a sheet of plywood. But once it is placed under a cargo pallet bearing food, fuel, ammunition and other supplies, and dropped from an airplane to American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, it becomes a critical component of the military’s re-supply efforts. Those boards are made in Kinston by a group of dedicated workers who are either blind or visually impaired. The 34 employees of the Lions Industries for the Blind’s Kinston factory — who make skid boards, weapons cleaning swabs, cloth covers and bags and other supplies…
David Anderson Thursday, January 7, 2010 Although one does not normally think of the Boy Scouts of America as a driver of economic development, local officials are hoping the organization will do just that this spring when the Scouts host their Regional Jamboree. “As we unveil this special announcement today, I think of those lives impacted, changed and enriched by this group,” Lenoir County Economic Development director Mark Pope said. Top officials of the BSA’s East Carolina Council — which oversees Scout troops in 20 Eastern North Carolina and is headquartered in Kinston — announced Thursday that their 2010 Boy…
David Anderson Staff Writer November 13, 2009 Federal funds have been set aside for upgrades to the aircraft landing guidance system at Kinston’s airport. U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., announced Friday that at least $500,000 has been earmarked to help defray the estimated $3.8 million cost of upgrading the Kinston Regional JetPort’s Instrument Landing System from a Category II to a Category III. “What that means for us is virtually any type of aircraft will be able to land on this runway in virtually any type of weather,” Darlene Waddell, the GTP’s executive director, said during the announcement at the…
Predue announces conditional OK for $12 million grant September 20, 2009 Saran Campell Staff Writter / Kinston Free Press Gov. Bev Perdue announced Sunday that the U.S. Division of Veteran Affairs has issued conditional approval for $12 million grant to fund a new state veterans skilled nursing facility. “This will bring long term care that is desperately needed to Eastern North Carolina back to people who give so much to America,” Perdue said during Kinston’s All-America City celebration. Charlie Smith, head of the N.C. Division of Veteran Affairs, said the first step to fulfilling the federal government’s conditions will be…
Press Rrelease North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle announced today a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation that includes more than $250,000 in funding for the next phase of the African American Music Trail project. The project is spearheaded by the N.C. Arts Council. The African American Music Trail will bring greater visibility to African American music traditions from eastern North Carolina. It tells the story of musicians and singers then and now, representing North Carolina to the world through their internationally acclaimed music. This year alone, the N.C. Arts Council designated $75,331 in…
David Anderson Staff Writer Thanks to federal stimulus dollars, Kinston will have its long-awaited extension of C.F. Harvey Parkway between U.S. 258 North and U.S. 70. Gov. Bev Perdue and Transportation Secretary Eugene Conti announced Tuesday that the $64 million project, scheduled to begin this summer, is among the state’s “shovel-ready” transportation projects set to be funded with federal stimulus money. “That’s really important for this TransPark and it’s important for the people of eastern North Carolina,” Perdue told a throng of local business, civic and political leaders who gathered on the Kinston Regional Jetport tarmac to welcome her. The…