By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Even before she became the city planner, Lainie Johnston enjoyed Whiteville.
“Who wants to stand in line for four hours at a restaurant?” she said, a week after taking over the reins of Whiteville’s Planning Department.

Johnston came to know Whiteville while working with an engineering firm that oversaw community redevelopment projects in Whiteville, Chadbourn and Columbus County. Johnston recently appeared before the City Council to review plans for the last year of a five-year strategic revitalization project on the city’s west side.

She said she’s excited about being in Whiteville. The change of pace from metropolitan Wilmington is refreshing, she said.

“I used to do my errands in Whiteville when I was working around here,” she said. “It’s much nicer to see people smile and be willing to talk with you. That attitude isn’t there in a larger city.”

Johnston said that part of her job is to help preserve the “small town atmosphere” that attracted her to the town.

“People are always talking about what you don’t have in Whiteville,” she said. “I look around and see what we do have, and much of it is special. I have to consider what works, and what can work better. I’m trying to think progressively while preserving what we have here. It’s a challenge.”

Balancing the needs of a growing city with the preservation of the town’s attributes will be a big challenge, Johnston said. Learning the new job is also tough.

“I spend every spare minute reading and learning the city code book,” she said. “There’s a lot going on around here, and I’d like to see more.”

The new planner said she looks forward to working with residents and builders in Whiteville.

“It’s important for a planner to be able to guide growth,” she said. “You don’t want to prevent growth, you want to prevent growth from having any detrimental effects on the community. I want to find ways to fill people’s needs without sacrificing what’s here.”

Johnston and her late husband Sandie wrote, produced, and directed the Lifetime television movie, “The Angel Doll,” which is adapted from a Jerry Bledsoe novella. Johnston has lived in Wilmington for 21 years, but said she will move to Whiteville in the near future.

“I’m excited about it,” she said. “Right now I’m trying to learn more about my job, and more about Whiteville.

As to her somewhat old-fashioned name – Lainie – Johnston said she gave up on the more formal “Elaine” years ago.

“The only people that call me ‘Elaine’ are telemarketers,” she laughed. “That’s how I know who’s on the telephone – only the telemarketers call me Elaine. Everyone else calls me Lainie.”