NEWTON GROVE — A Division of Motor Vehicles mobile unit offering a convenient location for people in and around Newton Grove to obtain driver’s licenses and vehicle registration renewals has been dropped. It is a decision that has left town officials angry, and may leave some residents in a lurch.

Effective Monday, the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles’ mobile service center discontinued providing vehicle registration and driver license services in Newton Grove. The mobile center previously parked on Weeksdale Street, near the Town Hall, during its once-a-month stopover.

It was a service town clerk Sheila Barefoot said has been ongoing for more than 20 years.

Barefoot herself was first issued her driver’s license in Goldsboro, but has renewed it for the last two decades in Newton Grove.

“It’s been coming for at least the last 20-plus years,” the town clerk remarked. “I would say it’s very valuable. It’s something folks don’t have to drive 15 or 20 miles to get done in Clinton, Smithfield, Dunn or some other place. I think it’s a very valuable service, especially for the elderly people in the area. Some that still drive, but drive very little, now they’ve got to go out of their way.”

According to DMV officials, the division maintains four mobile service centers that travel to small towns and remote areas to deliver driver and vehicle services. N.C. DMV, operating under the umbrella of the N.C. Department of Transportation, is reducing mobile service center operations due to budget constraints, officials said earlier this week.

Barefoot, for one, is disappointed that she was not given any kind of notification, whether prior to or following the decision.

“To me, it’s not very professional not to get a phone call or a letter,” said Barefoot, who first heard of the cease in the town’s DMV visits after being asked about it Tuesday. “I know there’s cutbacks, but I think there’s a way of trying to work out a solution, like coming every other month, but not cutting it all together ... not to totally take it away, especially without being notified.”

Newton Grove mayor Gerald Darden was equally surprised.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” said Darden. “I’m going to fight it, I can tell you that. I understand everyone’s in a crunch, but I think that’s a poor way— it’s no communication to us.”

The DMV mobile unit normally visited the town on the second Monday of every month, often holding hours from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Darden and town commissioners frequently sang the praises of the service, expressing pride in the participation it had received. Following one particular stop-off in August 2007, town officials noted nine tag renewals and 17 driver’s licenses issued on a single day, surpassing numbers for any other day in the last several years — or since.

“It’s the best we’ve had in years,” Barefoot said at the time.

On Tuesday, the town clerk said the number of people served in some capacity normally hovered around 15 to 20 during the six-hour period each month. While that is a lot for a town of little more than 600 people, Barefoot noted, it likely did not justify a monthly stop in the state’s eyes.

“For their records, they would say not,” she said.

However, Darden said that, when state officials commented on the low turnout at the Newton Grove site, a concerted effort was made to turn it around.

Town officials often encouraged all residents to take advantage of the mobile unit, touting its easy accessibility to town residents, which acted to cut down on travel time to other DMV locations in Dunn, Clinton, Goldsboro and Mount Olive.

“We made an extra effort to advertise it ourselves,” Darden recalled. That meant printing flyers and posting them around town. A sign was placed on the traffic circle directing travelers to the site, the mayor said.

Many years ago, a DMV location where tag renewals, driver’s licenses and other services could be provided was based at Smith’s Service Station, the current McDonald’s location. After that, officials said, such requirements could be fulfilled at the old fire station, before the unit was re-located to the Newton Grove Town Hall.

Barefoot and others are hopeful DMV services may be brought back to the town. There was a two-month span in March and April of 2007 when the mobile unit was not able to be present in Newton Grove, something officials said was due to “bad weather,” Barefoot said.

“They didn’t show up,” the mayor said.

And the DMV says it will not be back this Monday for its routine stop. When it stopped coming last time, Darden made a call to Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, who represents a portion of Sampson County, and the unit showed back up the next month and has visited regularly since.

“I might have to do that again,” Darden said. “We’ll see what we can do.”

Driver license and vehicle registration services are available in Clinton, at 1121 Sunset Ave. The Clinton office holds hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and can be contacted at (910) 592-5265. DMV addresses and hours are available at www.ncdot.gov/dmv or by calling (919) 715-7000.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.