🌱 NH Co. Schools To Resume Meal Collections + New Avelo Routes At ILM

Hello, neighbors. It's Friday in Wilmington and I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on the most important things happening in the community.

But first, your local weather:

• Friday: Humid with a t-storm in spots. High: 84 Low: 71.
• Saturday: Humid with a thunderstorm. High: 85 Low: 70.

Here are the top three stories today in Wilmington:

1. On Jun. 21, New Hanover County Schools Chief Finance Officer Ashley Sutton gave notice to the school board that the district will resume its collections enforcement policy for unpaid school lunch tabs which had been temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past two years, New Hanover County Schools students have been eligible to eat at school for free thanks to waivers through the United States Department of Agriculture. Moving forward, notices of low or negative balances in a student's meal account will be sent to parents and the student's principal throughout the school year, and after 30 days, unpaid amounts will be turned over to a collection agency which will work with the student's family to collect the remainder. (Port City Daily)
2. Three new nonstop routes offered by Avelo Airlines went live at Wilmington International Airport on Thursday, Jun. 22. Avelo will now offer flights to West Palm Beach, Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Wilmington, Delaware. Avelo began offering services at ILM last year with routes to New Haven, Connecticut; Orlando, Florida; and Baltimore, Maryland. All routes inaugurated by Avelo will be serviced by Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. (Greater Wilmington Business Journal)
3. On Jun. 21, Shyheim Zyaan Waters Davis, 20, was sentenced to five years and 10 months for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, following October 2022 investigations into Waters-Davis for allegedly selling crack cocaine and carrying a firearm. Wilmington Police Department officers conducted several controlled purchases of cocaine from Waters-Davis and subsequently searched his home on Nov. 17, 2022, where they and FBI Safe Streets Task Force personnel found 123 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a privately manufactured firearm or "ghost gun" with a 24-round extended magazine, a stolen 9mm firearm with a 50-round drum magazine, and large amounts of cash. When arrested in November of last year, Waters-Davis was already on state probation for felony breaking or entering a motor vehicle, and he plead guilty to the firearm possession charge on Mar. 21, 2023. (WECT)

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Today and tomorrow in Wilmington:

Friday, June 23

• John Hussmann | Live Music At The Shack At Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar (6:00 PM)
• Sunset Cruise With Live Music At Wilmington Water Tours (7:30 PM)

Saturday, June 24

• Black Water Adventure Cruise At Wilmington Water Tours (10:00 AM)
• reSOUL At Ogden Tap Room (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Opera House Theatre Company's (OHTC) performance of Ragtime had its Thalian Hall debut on Jun. 22, and will run through the 25, picking up again on Jun. 28 and running through Jul. 2. For one weekend only, the OHTC Apprentice Theatre will also be putting on performances of Spring Awakening, Jul. 7 - 9. (WECT)
• The New Hanover Humane Society is pleased to announce that Libby has been adopted! Click the link to view photos. (New Hanover Humane Society via Facebook)
• The Arts Council wants to remind you that all you need to do to find out what's happening locally in music, dance, literature, and so much more is just a click away at the link! (Arts Council of Wilmington via Facebook)

Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday. I'll see you soon!

— Lauren Kubiak

About me: Lauren is an Editor for Lightning Media Partners. She graduated from Rowan University with a Bachelor’s in journalism. She was previously a full-time editor at an association management firm, editing peer-reviewed nursing journals, textbooks, and newsletters.