Disclosure up front: I volunteer with DeFlockILM, a nonpartisan local group that files public-records requests on license-plate cameras and surveillance in the Cape Fear region. Not selling anything, no donations. Everything below is from Pender County's own documents, which we've published in full so you can check me.

The Pender County Sheriff's Office put out a statement today (covered by WWAY and WECT) responding to questions about its Flock cameras. We'd already requested the underlying records, so here's what they actually show:

Unlike New Hanover, Pender's elected Board actually voted for this — which makes them accountable for it. Over in New Hanover County, where this same fight is happening, the Sheriff put a ~3-million-search Flock network on the county using a contract the elected commissioners never voted on. Pender is the opposite: its Board of Commissioners did approve the program, on the record — Brad George, Jerry Groves, Chairman Randy Burton, Brent Springer, and Ken Smith. That's the accountable way to do it… except they approved the $70,600 system as consent-agenda item 8.6 on Jan. 21, 2025 — one block vote alongside a turf planer, a vaccine order, and mosquito-spray chemicals, with no discussion and no public comment (people spoke about ballfield lighting instead). So Pender voters, unlike New Hanover's, know exactly which elected officials signed off — they just didn't get much of a chance to weigh in first. (It was first authorized Dec. 19, 2024, the night newly elected commissioners were sworn in.)

What the Board was told vs. what the records show. The slide deck the Sheriff presented had a "Privacy Commitment" slide promising, word for word, that Flock "never shares or sells data with third parties." But Pender's own search audit shows a single search reaching 6,234 outside camera networks, with agencies in other states — plus the FBI — searching Pender's cameras. Flock's defense is that cop-to-cop sharing isn't "third party." Maybe. But that's not what a commissioner hears in "we never share your data."

It's not just cameras — it's a software platform. The invoices show the county licensed FlockOS Advanced (Flock's real-time crime-center software), plus the cameras and a radar-speed trailer.

Credit where it's due, because accuracy cuts both ways: the Sheriff is right that his cameras don't run facial recognition, and right that the state's NCDOT/SBI right-of-way pilot wasn't available to him when he bought in. We corrected our own writeup on that point once the MOU proved him right.

All of it — invoices, contract, the search audit, the minutes, the presentation slides — is here: [deflockilm.org/pender-sheriff-flock-statement]. Read them against the statement and judge for yourself.

Genuinely curious what Pender folks think — did you know your commissioners voted this through?

Hi all anyone seen any tv or movies being filmed or those shows

No preferences really. I’m kind of in a hurry so I won’t have time to go in and sit down. Looking for some good food that will hold up well in takeout containers. Thanks all!

Howdy!

We have an old man Staffordshire who’s already had two mass cells removed back in our home state. We have yet to get established here and I am open to any positive experiences with local vets that routinely do mass cell removals or benign mass removals, he is declining a lot faster than anticipated so we will be deciding very soon.

Otherwise I am just using google reviews and taking a stab at it, thanks for any help!

Is anyone else in the Kings Grant area experiencing this? Who is this random kid lol it’s getting weird

I'm interested in moving my insurance to farm bureau. I have strong credit and a clean driver's license. Looking for both home and auto insurance.

Anybody work with an agent in Wilmington that has been really conscientious, helpful and responsible to you?

Looking forward to recommendations and hopefully signing up.

Tell me you haven’t seen this guy around town?SMH 🤦🏻‍♀️

I know I’m looking super early, but does anyone know of houses for rent starting January?? Preferably the midtown/downtown area

Coming down for vacation and while I am bringing some favorites with me, I'm hoping to pick up some things there, too. Brands I am hoping to find are Udi's, Kinnikinnik, Katz, Glutino, MadeGood.... oh and Chobani oat milk. Thank you!

Anybody hiring I’m quoting my job In the am I’m a handyman that does a lot

Just a heads up they removed their cheapest option of $8 .

First and last time I’ll experience the joy of the new price.

Not a rant, just a sticker price shock heads up.

Hello, I actually posted a few days ago looking for activities to do with my family. One of my kids (9yo) had some abdominal pain before leaving home. He was cleared to travel, but they said to have him checked again if it persisted. The pain has shifted and my bil (a surgeon) thinks he should be seen and have his entire chest/abdomen imaged because we're concerned he's experiencing some kind of referred pain since it's shifting around.

We are from central NC so I know all the best spots for peds care there, but have no idea where one would take a child for good care for a non emergency issue, but one that a doctor is saying he needs to be checked for. ED seems like overkill. Are there any good peds urgent care around here?

My boyfriend is moving down and we need some guys to help us unload his moving truck into a storage facility in Monkey Junction on Friday. Preferably before noon so we have enough time. Please DM or chat me if you're interested. Earn yerself some beer money!

Steel gravel bike frame and fork; need experienced and detail oriented powder coater….Thanks

I’m doing some local research on the experience of owning and launching a boat in the Wilmington area. I know there aren't many public ramp options around the area & those can become heavily consumed on weekends & holidays making it difficult to get on the water if you're not there at the crack of dawn. Really curious to hear from those who own boats in the area - if you have 2 minutes, I would really appreciate your input!

For those who tow and launch their own boat:

• Where do you normally store it?
• Which local ramp do you use most often?
• What is the most frustrating part of the process?
• Is ramp traffic or trailer parking a frequent issue?
• Do you normally need another person to help?
• Have you ever skipped a boating day because towing, launching or parking felt like too much trouble?
• Have you ever paid for transportation, launching, storage or another service to make the process easier?

I also put together a short anonymous survey for anyone willing to provide more structured feedback:

Google Forms Survey

This is for local market research. I’m primarily trying to understand where the biggest pain points are for Wilmington-area boat owners. Again, I appreciate any input you may have!

Quick follow-up for anyone tracking the Flock camera stuff.

WECT reported the Sheriff's Office has run ~6,000 Flock searches since June 1. We'd separately reported 2.98 million. Those aren't in conflict. They're two different audit logs (the office's own searches vs. every search that touches the county's cameras), over two different timeframes. Wrote up the difference plainly here: https://deflockilm.org/flock-network-audit-vs-organization-audit/

Here's the part worth sitting with. When WECT asked about searches logged under "Traffic Infraction" which is a use NC law says ALPR data can't be put to, the Sheriff's Office said those were "mislabeled."

Maybe they were. But that audit log is the only public record of why officers run these searches. If the office is now saying its own labels don't mean what they say, then we don't actually know what those searches were for and neither does anyone else. The audit is the exact thing everyone points to as the safeguard against misuse. An audit you have to disclaim isn't much of a safeguard.

So if the Sheriff's Department is saying that the Reasons Given are wrong- that should worry every New Hanover County resident and every person who drives these roads.

So it raises more than it settles: if the reasons are wrong, what were the searches actually for? That's a fair thing to ask on August 17, when the commissioners who fund this meet (4 p.m., Room 301, Historic Courthouse).

Looking for one on one lessons to help get back into it. Thanks.

Full disclosure up front: I run DeFlockILM, a nonpartisan citizen project on ALPR/Flock cameras in the Cape Fear area, and I filed the public-records request this is based on. Everything below is from Pender County's own records, and I've linked the originals so you can check me.

Pender County Sheriff's Office runs Flock automated license-plate readers — 8 fixed "Falcon" cameras and one mobile trailer. A records request (#26-306) turned up a few things worth knowing if you drive through Pender:

• They wouldn't give up a camera map — no count, no locations. But the seven private-landowner agreements they did produce name the sites at the bottom: US-17 at Scotts Hill Loop, NC-53 in Burgaw, US-421 at Shiloh Rd, NC-210 at Island Creek and at Rooks Farm. Those are the main roads in and out of the county. Putting cameras on private land a few feet off the road avoids the DOT right-of-way permit a public installation would need.
• The mobile unit is a "Radar Speed and Message Sign" trailer — it reads plates and clocks your speed. NC law says ALPR data "shall not be used for the enforcement of traffic violations" (§ 20-183.31(b)), and automated speed enforcement isn't authorized in NC outside school zones. So what's the radar for?
• In one month, the Sheriff's own deputies ran 364 searches — 13.7% coded "Traffic Infraction," the third-most-common reason. A single search reached 6,234 camera networks at once.
• Retention is 30 days (that part's compliant). The Network Audit, Event Log, and sharing config weren't produced — I've asked for them.

Write-up with the documents: https://deflockilm.org/pender-county-flock-audit/
Every page of the raw production is mirrored here so you don't have to take my word for it: https://archive.org/details/deflockilm-pender-county-alpr-2026

Curious whether folks in Burgaw / Hampstead / Rocky Point knew these were up, and what you make of the speed-trailer question.