Duplin still looking for tank shooter
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on October 27, 2005 1:52 PM
KENANSVILLE -- The Duplin County Sheriff's Office is seeking information about the shooting of two water tanks, one in the Summerlin's Crossroads area of Duplin County and the other near Kenansville.
Capt. Stanley Jones with the Duplin County Sheriff's Office said investigators are still asking the public to help them find the suspect or suspects in the case.
He said the Sheriff's Office is offering a reward for information that would help the investigation. The Sheriff's Office telephone number is 910-296-2150.
A state Water Quality official said the county will not be sanctioned for the water loss.
Nat Wilson, an employee with the Raleigh permitting section of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said that although hundreds of thousands of gallons were lost because of the vandalism, the eastern half of the county pulls an average of 679,000 gallons a day, with a maximum allowed use of 1.3 million gallons. Wilson said what the water tanks lost to the vandalism was less than a day's use.
But that doesn't mean it didn't cost a lot to fix them, Water Director Stan Miller said.
The repair bill was more than $1,800.
"We did Summerlin's Crossroads from the outside," Miller said. "That saved us about 100,000 gallons of water."
The hole was about the size of a dime at Summerlin's Crossroads. The detective told Miller it looked like it might have come from a high-powered rifle.
But the hole found in the smaller tank on D.S. Williamson Road near Kenansville was bigger, about the size of a quarter. The county had to hire a company to go inside to repair that hole.
Miller said the investigating officer told him the larger hole appeared to have been made by a black powder gun.
The repairs to that tank took several days.
"We were able to disinfect it and put it back on line in four days," Miller said.