The Daily News editorial and advertising staff earned eight awards from the North Carolina Press Association annual content.
Reporter Trevor Dunnell earned 1st place for investigative reporting for his story, "Dog in Swansboro attacks fifth victim, reports show." The staff earned an additional 1st place award for use of photography.
The design and production of The Daily News ranked 2nd place in the category of appearance and design. Reporter Jannette Pippin took home a 2nd place win for breaking news coverage for the story, "The Tornado victims feel 'blessed' after the storm."
Tina Brooks earned a 2nd place finish for photo page for her photos from Onslow Memorial Hosptial of Covid 19 first responders. The Daily News staff also placed 2nd for use of social media.
Onslow Memorial Hospital has seen a drastic increase in COVID-19 positive inpatients over the last week and is encouraging the community to continue following precautions to help protect against spread of the virus.
The hospital reported Wednesday morning that they are caring for 46 COVID-19 patients, which is the highest number since the pandemic began.
Onslow Memorial Hospital started seeing an increase after averaging 23 COVID-19 positive inpatients per day during December until the middle of the month but hospital saw an average 32 per day during the last week of December.
On Jan. 5, the number spiked to 43 COVID positive inpatients and this week reached the highest volume.
The first meeting of the newly seated members of the Onslow County Board of Education began with the election of its leadership and a moment of silence in memory of former chairman Pam Thomas.
The newly elected members of the board – incumbent Ken Reddic and newcomers Melissa Oakley, Joseph Speranza and Eric Whitfield – were sworn into office in December but the business meeting was canceled due to health concerns among the board due to COVID-19, pushing the board’s first meeting to Jan. 5.
During the organizational start of the meeting, the board elected Bob Williams as chairman and Jeff Hudson as vice chairman.
Editor’s note: This story is No. 1 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for The Daily News, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
March 12, 2020 was the day the global novel coronavirus pandemic arrived at Onslow County’s doorstep and brought with it a public health crisis full of challenges as well as a community that has stepped up to help those most in need.
During the nine months that have followed that first positive case of COVID-19 reported in Onslow County, there are few aspects of life that haven’t been impacted by the pandemic, from healthcare and education to business and the economy.
Editor’s note: This story is No. 4 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for The Daily News, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
New school board member Eric Whitfield was sworn into office this month after a controversial path to his election that began with allegations of racism.
Whitfield, who was one of four Republican candidates for Onslow County Board of Education to win the party’s nomination in the March primary, was fired from his job and received backlash online after posting a racial remark on social media.
According to previous Daily News reports, he posted a comment on Facebook that used the term “ignorant darkies” in a reference to black people.
The Onslow County Republican Party is expected to take action this week to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Commissioners.
Former Commissioner William Shanahan resigned his seat on the board Dec. 8 in preparation for his transition to his new judicial duties as a District Court judge.
Shanahan was elected to the board as a Republican and the executive committee of the Onslow County Republican Party has 30 days to forward to the board its recommendation for who should fill the vacant seat. Provided the party does so within that time, the board must accept the recommendation of its executive committee, according to North Carolina general statute 153A-27.1.
The Walmart store in Swansboro is back open after a report of a suspicious package closed the store for several hours Wednesday night.
Officials say the report came in at approximately 5:45 p.m. where one of the shoppers of the store found a suspicious bag with a lock that was inside a shopping cart. The bag was also reported to be covered up by a coat or similar material.
Swansboro Mayor John Davis explained the store’s internal security looked into the report and contacted thet Swansboro Police Department who first responded. The SBI and ATF also assisted, including an explosive ordinance team to evaluate the suspicious package.
Editor’s note: This story is No. 10 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for The Daily News, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
A former N.C. District Court judge is on the opposite side of the bench with a pending driving while impaired charge that marred his 2020 election bid to keep his judicial seat.
Former Judge Tim Smith of Duplin County was charged in January with misdemeanor driving while impaired after being pulled over on N.C. 41 outside of Trenton for alleged erratic driving. According to previous Daily News reports, a standard roadside sobriety test was performed and it was determined Smith was allegedly impaired by a substance other than alcohol.
Whether they worked with her, taught with her, volunteered with her or served with her, friends and colleagues of longtime educator and public servant Pam Thomas remembered one thing: her love for Onslow County.
“Pam was a pillar of our community, a mentor and a leader,” Onslow County Board of Education member Ken Reddic said.
Onslow County’s education community lost a great advocate with Thomas’ death and the community as a whole lost a great public servant, Reddic said.
Thomas, who was admitted to the hospital in late November after being diagnosed with COVID-19, died early Sunday morning.
Thomas worked as a teacher, coach and supervisor with Onslow County Schools for 34 years and after her retirement was elected to the Board of Education. She joined the school board in 2004 and served as chairman from 2010 until her final term, which ended this month.