WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016 y o u r n e w s s o u r c e S i n c e 1 8 8 2 kinston, NC
Community dinner STORM DebriS MIDSEASON REPORT
Event set for tonight at Jackson Removal for Lenoir County, Pleasant surprises and flops Heights Original FWB Church. A3 Kinston to begin today. A3 at college FBs halfway point. B1
Floods bring scrutiny to N.C. farming
Environmental questions raised about state practices By Arelis R. Hernndez, Angela laden sludge from spilling out. But drowned chickens and turkeys Fritz and Chris Mooney across coastal plain here home were left behind. An incalculable The Washington Post to one of the highest concentrations amount of animal waste was car- NEW BERN | A filthy brown sea, of hog farms in the country the ried toward the ocean. Along the a slurry of mud, debris, chemicals lagoons content now looks more way, it could be contaminating the and waste has overtaken miles of like the surrounding floodwater. groundwater for the many people rural counties in North Carolina. In a state already reeling from who rely on wells in this part of Against the drab water, the shiny lost lives, homes and livelihoods, the state, as well as threatening metal roofs of hog houses are im- the color is evidence of major en- the delicate ecosystems of tidal possible to miss, visible from the vironmental risks. estuaries and bays. air, as are the rectangular and Hundreds of hog and poultry The extent of the damage will diamond-shaped outlines of mas- farms may have been inundated not be known until the North Caro- sive lagoons constructed just feet last week as the Neuse, Lumber lina Department of Environmental away. and Tar rivers roared over their Quality conducts tests in the com- When those lagoons are doing banks, a rampage powered by the ing weeks. But it has quickly re- their job, the liquid excrement they deluge of Hurricane Matthew. newed criticism of industry prac- In North Carolina, massive flooding in the wake of Hurricane Matthew isolated hold is a deep reddish-pink. Berms The carcasses of several thousand or swamped these and other hog farms and their waste lagoons, raising fears of are designed to keep that bacteria- drowned hogs and several million See FARMING A10 environmental contamination. Washington Post photo by Arelis Hernndez
KINSTON BUSINESSES DAMAGE ASSESSMENT SCHOOLS
Taking stock Greene,
Jones head back to class Lenoir County schools to be out at least through remainder of week By Dustin George Staff Writer For some students, school is back in session. Again. One week after Hurricane Matthew and the sub- sequent flooding forced schools in Lenoir, Jones and Greene Counties to close down, classrooms in Jones and Greene Counties are full once again. Life is back to normal, except for figuring out who is not where their home is, and whose home is no longer there, Patrick Greene, principal at Greene Central High School, which reopened Tuesday, said. Greene said teachers have been talking to students to learn who has been impacted by the flood, and what they might need at school. The school keeps a small amount of clothes and school supplies on hand, just in case, but our commu- nity has really taken care of us, Greene said. Weve had churches taking up donations to give to our students and their families when we need them. In addition to identifying students who need as- sistance, Greene said the school is currently trying to make up for lost time. The fall semester was just beginning its sixth week when the flooding happened, and with one week of instruction lost, teachers not only have to pick up where they left off, but make up for Wilbur King sweeps mud and water out of Kings Restaurant on Tuesday, shortly after officials opened U.S. 70 up for business owners lost time. to assess their damages. Photo by Zach Frailey / The Free Press Greene said his school has begun planning to hold after school tutoring for students, plus preparing extra Kinston owners allowed back inside flooded stores cram sessions for students who have to take End of Course tests at the end of the semester. Because Lenoir Community College is currently By Dustin George of the tables, chairs and closed for staff and students, teachers who normally Staff Writer food onto tractor-trailers come to the high school or hostonlinecourses are not After Floyd, if somebody before the flooding began. able to teach their classes, leaving some dual-enroll- told me Id be seeing some- What couldnt fit into the mentstudents with a gap in their education. thing like this again, I would trucks was placed on tables Tuesday, most of those students were being kept have called them a nut, said held aloft by cinder blocks, in the school library, though some, including a group former Kings Restaurant keeping what had to be left of carpentry students, were put to work on projects owner Wilbur King on Tues- behind well out of reach of the water that came inside See SCHOOLS A10 day as he pushed water out of the Kings dining room. the business. While King may have sold After Floyd, I came back his business to current owner here to 40 tables and 130 chairs all floating and dirty, Joe Hargitt years ago, King King said. We had to take said he still owns the land them outside, clean them, the restaurant sits on, giv- sanitize them and get them ing him a vested interest in Kings Restaurant owner Joe Hargitt walks past a week-old back in. This time, all we got getting the business cleaned newspaper warning of the incoming flood on Tuesday while to do is back a truck up to the up and running again. cleaning flood water and mud from his business. Photo by Zach door. Tuesday, U.S 70 was made Frailey / The Free Press After more than a week of available to business own- seeing photos of the exterior ers looking to inspect their On the outside, much of the hang with a noticeable of his business covered by businesses. The road is now Kings parking lot was still droop; and inside the walls, several feet of water, Hargitt partially open to all motor- underwater, though the wa- there is possible damage to said he wasnt sure what he ists, but even the most ob- ter level is dropping. the restaurants electrical was going to find when he Levi Miller, 16, assembles an easel during the time he would servant passerby probably Inside, there is more than systems. got inside his business on normally be attending a welding class at Greene Central High cant determine the scope half an inch an inch of wa- What stayed dry, however, Tuesday. School on Tuesday. Miller and other high school students who of the damage done to some ter and mud in each dining is the restaurants food and Its a lot better than I take Lenoir Community College classes at the high school are of the businesses along the room; ceiling tiles, heavy furniture. unable to attend their classes untilLCCreturns to their main highway. from moisture absorption, Kings staff loaded most See BUSINESS A10 campus. Photo by ZachFrailey/ The Free Press