ENC Regional News

The annual crab pot cleanup project started Monday and runs through February 7th.  Jared Brumbaugh has more. 

The removal period allows derelict and abandoned crab pots and fishing gear to be removed from internal waters.  The Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project is in its fifth year and is funded primarily by the General Assembly.  This year, 76 commercial watermen will participate in the cleanup effort which creates jobs for them while the no-potting period is in place.  Coastal Education Coordinator with the Coastal Federation Sara Hallas. 

The Onslow Water and Sewer Authority is asking customers to check their plumbing for leaks after historic high demand is being reported across their service area due to the recent winter storm.  Jared Brumbaugh has more.

ONWASA normally pump around 7.5 million gallons of water every day during the month of January.  According to CEO of ONSWASA Jeffery Hudson, the rate of demand has nearly doubled to 14 million gallons of water over the last several days.

An organization that helps former inmates transition back into their communities in Onslow and Jones Counties is getting a $225,000 state contract. 

A four month bridge replacement project is underway in Carteret County, prompting a road closure near N.C. 58.  Jared Brumbaugh has more. 

The bridge over Hadnot Creek north of Cape Carteret was in constant need of repairs making it functionally obsolete and structurally deficient.  Communications officer for the State Department of Transportation Divisions 2 and 3 Brian Rick says the span was built in 1961 to standards no longer used today.

Crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation are out in force pretreating the roads before the freezing rain and snow start falling here in eastern North Carolina.  Jared Brumbaugh has more.

Ten thousand medication disposal kits are headed to the Pitt County Coalition on Substance Abuse for distribution.  As Jared Brumbaugh reports, the kits are an effort to get rid of unused opioids. 

The disposal kits help prevent people from becoming addicted to opioids by providing a simple and easily accessible way to dispose of unused medications.  Communications Director with Trillium Health Jennifer Mackethan says the Deterra Drug Deactivation System works by combining water and activated carbon to neutralize any organic medications containing opioids.

A materials science company has announced plans to open a state-of-the-art facility in eastern North Carolina and expand manufacturing operations in the Piedmont.  Jared Brumbaugh has more. 

Record salinity levels revealed in the Neuse River early this month are just now approaching normal levels.  Jared Brumbaugh has more.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is shutting down one of the major connectors to the Outer Banks for a week while crews repair the swing-span drawbridge.  Jared Brumbaugh has more. 

Spirit AeroSystems will be expanding their operations at the Global TransPark in Lenoir County. Jared Brumbaugh has more.

The company, which manufactures components for the Airbus A350 aircraft, plans to invest nearly $56 million in Kinston over the next five years.  The project was made possible in part by a performance-based incentive grant from Lenoir County up to $1.5 million.  Lenoir County Executive Director of Economic Development Mark Pope.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce has released the economic development tier rankings for 2018, and three counties in eastern North Carolina will be changing their designation in the New Year. 

The North Carolina Cooperative Extension is bringing its business training classes to farmers in the state's eastern region. 

Lenoir County Public Schools is one of four school systems in Eastern North Carolina to receive a state grant that helps fund computer science classes.