Johnston Residents Shred 25,000 Pounds Of Documents At Annual Event

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — Hundreds of Johnston County residents took advantage of a free document shredding event Saturday aimed at helping protect personal information and prevent identity theft.

The Johnston County Register of Deeds Office hosted its 17th annual shred event at Rose Manor Shopping Center in Smithfield. A total of 429 residents brought approximately 25,000 pounds of canceled checks, bank statements, and other sensitive documents for secure destruction.

Register of Deeds Craig Olive said he was pleased with the community’s response to the annual event.

“Protecting our community remains a top priority, and I remain a steadfast advocate for the citizens of Johnston County in our ongoing efforts to safeguard personal information and prevent identity theft,” Olive said. “As long as I am in office, I will continue this annual event for the citizens of this great County.”

The annual shred day is designed to help residents safely dispose of documents containing personal information that could be used by identity thieves.

Olive thanked the many volunteers and sponsors who helped make the event possible.

“I would like to publicly thank Dan Heavner of Heavner’s Furniture for the use of their parking lot to host the event,” Olive said. “I also would like to thank Boy Scouts of Troop 124 and my office staff for their help in this year’s event.”

Sponsors for this year’s event included Local Government Federal Credit Union, Civic Federal Credit Union, The Johnston County Report, Speedy/Neal Signs, Hinson’s Printing, and InterState Outdoor Inc.

In addition to hosting the annual shred event, the Register of Deeds Office offers a property fraud protection program that helps property owners monitor activity involving their real estate records. Residents can learn more about the Fraud Guard program at www.johnstonnc.com/fraudguard.

Olive also noted his role in supporting legislation approved in 2009 that strengthened identity theft protections in North Carolina by allowing Registers of Deeds to redact sensitive personal information from public records posted online.

“Back in 2009, I was proud to play a major role in passing legislation in North Carolina that significantly strengthened identity theft protections,” Olive said. “This law empowered Registers of Deeds across the state to redact sensitive personal information from public records posted online, removing the burden from citizens to manually notify their county offices or identify specific books and page numbers to secure their data.”