2005 news timeline
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on January 1, 2006 2:05 AM
January
Jan. 4 -- The North Carolina Railroad Company plans to repair historic building on James Street.
Jan. 17 -- Six-year-old Nikita Pearson killed in a vehicle accident at intersection of U.S. 70 and Beston Road.
Jan. 18 -- Goldsboro officials break ground on new annex to City Hall.
Jan. 19 -- Four 4th Fighter Wing jets from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base take part in fly-by at President Bush's inauguration.
Jan. 24 -- Joe Huffman, former city manager of Laurinburg, sworn in as new Goldsboro city manager.
Jan. 27 -- Some Eureka residents sign petition seeking to dissolve the town but the town board vows to keep charter intact.
Jan. 31 -- Demolition begins at site of new Berkeley Commons shopping center on North Berkeley Boulevard.
February
Feb. 8 -- Two men,m Christopher Brown and Telly Cox, indicted for murder of Michael Shawn Maynard and Christie Jones. Federal officials announce plans to close prison at Seymour Johnson AFB.
Feb. 9 -- Contingent of airmen from Seymour Johnson returns from deployment in Middle East.
Feb. 19 -- Paramount Theater burns, destroying downtown landmark.
March
March 1 -- Mount Olive College awarded a $5.68 million federal loan to construct three new buildings. Wayne County commissioners approve an ordinance restricting population density around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
March 5 -- Superior Court Judge Kenneth Crow rules the Goldsboro City Council must vote again on annexation of area along Salem Church and Buck Swamp roads.
March 8 -- A violent thunderstorm rages across the county, damaging buildings, including Wayne Country Day School, toppling trees and power lines and blocking roads.
March 24 -- Mount Olive College loses 84-69 to Bryant College in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament at Grand Forks, N.D.
Marach 28 -- City planners agree to compromise that permits churches to be located in high-noise area near Seymour Johnson AFB.
March 30 -- A Paramount Theater committee announces it intends to rebuild on the same site and buy more land to add an expanded lobby, restrooms and backstage area. Princeton receives more than $2 million in federal grants to pay for sewer improvements and a new town hall.
April
April 7 -- Former teacher Hugh Pate Jr., sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to distributing pornographic photographs of children over the Internet.
April 9 -- Gaspar Gonzalez selected chairman of the Wayne County Democraic Party, the first Hispanic to hold the post. Spring Creek High School student Antwan Lewis drowns during a band trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
April 16 -- Annual De-Rail-A-Bration festival draws hundreds to downtown Goldsboro.
April 19 -- Cousins Dwight Sloan and Kalonda Kay Wooten are convicted of the first-degree murder of Jamaal Pearsall on Aug. 23, 2003, and are sentenced to life in prison.
April 20 -- Street clock dedicated to late Goldsboro Mayor Hal Plonk unveiled at Wayne Community College.
April 24 -- Goldsboro natives Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood, and Anne Jeffreys, a star of stage, screen and television, are honored with stars in a walk of fame ceremony at Wayne Community College.
April 25 -- Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, a Goldsboro High School graduate, is named to command U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.
May
May 1 -- Tyron Best killed in car crash near Calypso while trying to elude police.
May 4 -- Mount Olive College officials break ground for $23 million building project that will add three new buildings to the campus.
May 10 -- Wayne County officials say animal shelter inadequate.
May 13 -- Military officials announce that Seymour Johnson Air Force Base will gain 362 jobs as a result of national base realignment.
May 13-14 -- Thousands attend annual Relay for Life. More than $500,000 raised for cancer research.
May 16 -- Goldsboro man, Russell Lee Nickleson, killed in Mount Olive shooting.
May 17 -- Masked man robs Heritage Bank in Fremont.
May 23 -- Eric Lane goes on trial a second time for the murder of 5-year-old Precious Whitfield. First trial ended in a mistrial.
May 28 -- Dillard-Goldsboro High alumni and Central High alumni gather for reunions, bringing thousands of former students and their families to Goldsboro.
June
June 6 -- Goldsboro City Council approves 5-cent increase in property taxes.
June 7 -- Reginald Hough, 53, is killed when a trench collapses on him in Pikeville.
June 8 -- Fraternal Order of Police announce location of calling center in former First Citizens Bank building downtown, creating 120 jobs.
June 14 -- Southern Wayne High School teacher Donna Peacock dies during accident while vacationing in Caribbean. Summer Brooke Worrell, 16, is killed in car crash at intersection of Tommy's Road and Patetown Road.
June 21 -- Winn-Dixie officials announce closing of three Wayne County grocery stores. Wayne native Jerry Narron is named interim manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Later, the team lifted the iterim designation.
June 24 -- Government and agricultural officials say lack of rain becoming critical.
June 27 -- Fourteen-year-old Jonneka Nicki Spencer is stabbed to death. Her step-father, Roger Lamont Sutton, is charged with murder.
June 28 -- Wayne County commissioners approve a 7.5-cent increase in property taxes.
July
July 7 -- Eric Lane found guilty in Wayne Superior Court of murdering Precious Whitfield in 2002.
July 11 -- Wayne County jury sentences Lane to death.
July 15 -- Two people -- Roy Chester Rowe and Patricia Ann Raynor -- die in house fire on George Street.
July 21 -- Duplin county officials clash over estimated $43 million cost of proposed school building plan.
July 22 -- Southern Family Markets announce new store to replace Winn Dixie store on Wayne Memorial Drive.
July 25 -- Wal-Mart rumored to be considering locating on site behind Southern Belle restaurant in Mount Olive.
July 28 -- Heat wave drives up energy use to record-breaking levels over a two-day period. Sudden storm dump as much as six inches of rain on Mount Olive, flooding several businesses. Teen volunteer Thomas Bradshaw II charged with stealing prescription drugs from Wayne Memorial Hospital pharmacy
.August
Aug. 2 -- Wayne County commissioners approve increase in monthly 911 telephone fee from 85 cents to $1.85.
Aug. 15 -- Traffic stop by Wayne law officers on N.C. 111 south nets $600,000 in illegal drugs.
Aug. 16 -- Wayne County commissioners and the Wayne Board of Education reach a budget deal that avoids a court battle.
Aug. 19 -- Body of Brenda Owens found in Neuse River after she had been reported missing. Her husband, Robert Owens, committed suicide after apparently taking her life.
Aug. 20 -- Group of about 250 Seymour Johnson airmen prepare for deployment to Middle East.
Aug. 23 -- City officials decide to resume fluoridation of water after health concerns led to halt for several weeks.
Aug. 29 -- Progress Energy announces $80 million investment in Wayne Energy Complex west of Goldsboro.
September
Sep. 1-- Gas prices soar to more than $3 per gallon in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Sept. 1-- Mount Olive College Hall renamed George and Annie Dail Kornegay Arena.
Sept. 6 -- Airmen from 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB deployed to Incirlik, Turkey, in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
Sept. 9 -- Katrina evacuees find relief in Wayne.
Sept. 13 -- Residents keep eyes on Hurricane Ophelia, shelters open, schools close.
Sept. 15 -- Ophelia brings rain, but little damage to Wayne.
Sept. 16 -- City holds first in series of neighborhood meetings on Kornegay Street.
Sept. 18 -- Wayne Board of Education considers possible $130 million facilities plan, including new high schools in Grantham and Mount Olive.
Sept. 19 -- Ten-acre marijuana field discovered by law enforcement officers in southern Duplin County.
Sept. 23 -- Stoney Creek Park Development Committee drafts final version of plan for new park.
Sept. 29 -- 57th Annual Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair starts.
October
Oct. 2 -- Wayne County Public Schools cited for improvement under No Child Left Behind Act,.
Oct. 3 -- Rev. Dr. WIlliam Barber announces campaign for presidency of North Carolina NAACP.
Oct. 4 -- City of Goldsboro asks residents to conserve water due to drought conditions.
Oct. 7 -- Rain from Tropical Storm Tammy forces early end to fair, cutting into attendance and profits.
Oct. 8 -- The Rev. William Barber of Greenleaf Christian Church is elected president of the state NAACP.
Oct. 13 -- Lighthouse of Wayne County thrift store closes its doors.
Oct. 14 -- Wayne Motel demolished after 49 years.
Oct. 17 -- Monument to 230th Battalion of N.C. National Guard unveiled at armory.
Oct. 20 -- Wayne Community College breaks ground on 31,000 square-foot Spruce Building, to be used for computer science and business center.
Oct. 21 -- Operation Goldrush, an investigation into drug trafficking in Wayne, ends with 28 convictions and seizure of $1.6 million in cash, drugs and property.
Oct. 22 -- Carolyn Ann Boyette, 57, of Mount Olive, charged in death of 21-year-old granddaughter Tiesha Faison.
Oct. 26 -- Piece of F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base lands in backyard of Bowman, S.C. family.
November
Nov. 3 -- Wayne County NAACP members honor the late Rosa Parks with a memorial bus ride through Goldsboro.
Nov. 6 -- Thousands attend Wings Over Wayne air show at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
Nov. 8 -- Pikeville rejects the sale of malt beverages and unfortified wine by vote of 105 to 72.
Nov. 18 -- Mackenzie Wessels and Carson Thomas, eighth-graders at Greenwood Middle School, are struck and injured by a vehicle at a crosswalk near the school.
Nov. 30 -- Wayne County commissioners decide to hire a consultant to help guide school building plans.
December
Dec. 1 -- Man initially known as Luis Delgado Jesus charged with with two felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Greenwood Middle School accident. He is later identified as Wilder Fidelman Alvarado Mejia.
Dec. 1 -- People's National Bank in Mount Olive bank robbed.
Dec. 6 -- Airman Justin Frewin awarded Bronze Star for braving enemy fire to save comrade.
Dec. 14 -- Thomas Bradshaw II pleads guilty in hospital drug theft and receives probation.
Dec. 15 -- Mount Olive and Goldsboro committees of 100 announce merger of their economic development efforts.
Dec. 22 -- Section of new U.S. 117 between Goldsboro and Pikeville opens to traffic.
Dec. 28 -- Red Cross officials announce that Wayne chapter collected and sent total of $243,229 to victims of Hurricane Katrina.