Weather Warm today and Wednesday, with 20 per cent chance of afternoon thundershowers. Low, 69; high, 90. f r> The Published Every Tuesday & Thursday Times Serving All "Of Franklin County Comment We don't fear an invasion from Mar*. We figure they have heard of the high cost of living on this planet. Tal ?y. 6-3283 Tan Cants Louiaburg, N. C.. Tuesday. August 9. 1966 (Six Pagaa Today) 97th Yaar? Number 49 !? . - . (Tu, Signs Can Be Misleading If You Live In Franklin County An Editorial Don't be misled by the sign in the picture accom panying today's article. While it clearly states "Road . Construction," it not only doesn't mean it, this isn't even a State Highway sign. The sign appeared along busy, bumpy, patched and pitiful N. C. 561 near Centerville. It was placed along the road because, get this, the telephone company was KUAU Rep. Fountain Calls For Full Report On Tri-County Program Washington, D. C. - Rep. L. H. Fountain disclosed to day he has called on anti poverty program officials here for a "full report and explanation" of the circum stances under which federal grants totaling nearly $200,000 were approved this year to the Recreation Coun cil of Memorial Recreation Forest at Warrenton. He said he had also asked the White House to look Into the matter. Fountain said he was "deeply disturbed" by reports that a key staff member of the Warrenton organization had been employed while still on parole from a combination of two life sentences and three 30-year prison terms Imposed In connection with burglaries. And he said he was even more "shocked and amazed" over reports that officials respon sible for at least one of the grants were not only aware of the staff member's prison background but reportedly even persuaded him to accept the anti-poverty program re sponsibility In spite of It. The Second District law maker Indicated the demand for an explanation had been flled with both the Office of Economic Opportunity which administers the "Head Start" program and the Labor De partment which Is respon sible for administering the Neighborhood Youth Corps program. The Recreation Council got a $144,000 grant in April for a "Head Start" project and shortly thereafter was given a $44,000 grant for a three-month Neighborhood Youth Corps program. Fountain stressed that he was not attempting to pass Judgment on the situation un til all the tacts are In. "In view of what has already been reported, however, I feel that a full and frank expla nation of the conditions under which these grants were made Is in order, and I shall Insist that It be provided by respon sible officials. If the explana tion demonstrates basic weak nesses In the so-called anti-poverty programs or In the procedures for handling Bunn Lions To Hold Bulb Sale Tlx recently formed Bunn Lions Club will stage a door to-door light blub sale In the Bunn area Friday night, be ginning at 7 p.m. according to Randy Alford, s pokes marv^br the group. Proceeds from the sale of the light blube will go to the Bunn Lions General Activities Fund, according to Alford. > anti-poverty program appli cations, I shall also Insist that corrective steps be taken," Fountain, concluded. Border Markets Open Today Markets on the Border North Carolina, South Carolina t&t open today and their opening Is viewed with keen Interest In the Franklin County area. Price trends there are con sidered In large measure In dicative of what might be ex pected In the Middle Belt when the season opens her* around the first of September. Production In the two-State belts, as of conditions July 1, Is ' forecast at 241,930,000 pounds by the U. S. Crop Re porting Board. This would be slightly more than IS million pounds, or seven percent more than In 1965. The total flue cured harvest for 1966 Is es timated at 1,186,875,000 pounds, >up 127.6 million pounds, or twelve percent more than th$ 1965 output. The Crop Reporting Service sal#, however, that hot, dry weather caused some deteri oration In crop conditions since July 1. Farmer* will be allowed to sell 110 percent of their poundage quota of 1,126 million pounds, plus 69 million pounds, which were net under 1965 marketings. Price support* will be avail able under the government loan program on tobeccoofall grades the first twelve day* of the season for the first time. Heretofore, loose leaf has been sold under supports In these belts only for a five to seven-day period. Tied to bacco will still be supported at three cents per pound higher than untied leaf per grade. Last Year the ?Stabilisation Corporation received 16.9 million pounds, or 6.1 per cent of gross sale*. stringing wire alqng the right-of-way. There wasn't a State Highway crewman within miles, if indeed even inside the county. And we leave it to the reader to determine just how telephone wire installation con stitutes road construction. Similar signs decorated U. S. 401. south of Louis burg last week. A traveler could pretend he was fol lowing the old Burma-Shave signs for a distance of several miles. Each sign, the nearer one got to Louisburg, grew bolder . Road Construction Ahead. Uniformed persons might have believed this. Being from Franklin County, we knew the moment we saw i such signs on this side of the Wake line, that someone was playing a cruel joke. Sure enough, as we neared the obstacle course of patches near Cash's Store a few miles south of town, there it was, big as life. One road scraper; five high way maintanence men; all stopped.There was some evi dence that some work had been done to the shoulders of the road. For ten miles, the State Highway depart ment had been advertising that they were doing some thing, although certainly not construction, in Franklin County. We weren't surprised. Fifth Division Highway Com missioner J. B Brame had been asked about the shoulders on U. S 401 and the difference in their up keep in Wake and in Franklin at a recent meeting held here. He obviously passed the word to the local main tanence people, .who in alt probability would have gotten around to it anyway. They do an exceptionally fine job for this county and we're proud of them. Heaven help us if we didn't have a good maintanence crew. In this same meeting. Mr. Brame stated that these editorials had no influence on him or the Commission. Considering the absence of any answers to our ques tions:., he might be right. We photographed N C 56 and N. C 56 quickly got patched and painted. We photographed N. C. 58, but had not at the time published the pictures. N C. 58 was not patched or painted. We published pictures of N. C. 561 below Center vi He. N. C. 561 received patching below Centerville. We printed a Letter to the Editor relating to holes in U. S. 1 at Franklinton. Less than twenty hours later when we arrived to check the road, who was there ahead of us? Of course, State Highway patchers. We printed a picture of a hole in U. S. 401 at the Bickett Blvd. and N. C. 56 intersection. The hole is gone. I ' We published a picture of ^abandoned well along the N. C. 56 right-of-way. Tvw days later it was filled. Perhaps this does not constitute influence. Cer tainly we have, -thus far, gotten no response on our main problem, Primary Road improvements. But ev$n on tire day Highway Commission Chairman Joe Hunt was quoted in The Raleigh Times as saying, "I haven't seen his editorials," a Raleigh newsman says he personally observed Mr. Hunt reading The Franklin* Times in his office in Raleigh. Mr. Hunt needn't be ashamed to admit that he reads The Times. A whole lot of people do. One day Mr. Hunt and the present administration will realize how many. And just to keep the idea alive, again let us re peat: We in Franklin County want some improvements to our roads. We want our fair share of highway funds; we want them now and we don't really care whether or not Commissioners subscribe to The Franklin Times, Retail Sales Increase Over $1 Million In County *1 A release of Silts and Us* Tax Analysis by the North Carolina Department of Revenue today, reveals that Franklin County had an In crease of 11,313,312.00 In re tail sales In the fiscal 1995-66 year over 1964-68. The total Gross Retell Sales listed for Franklin County Is $28,140,698.00. This is com pared to the Gross Retail Sales listed In a report last August for the fiscal year 1964-65 of $26,824,383.00. Gross Collections of Sales and Use Tax was also higher In 1066-66 than In 1964-68 reaching 1840,424.02 as com pered to the August, 1968 release of figures of $801, 384.36. The latest figures show a large Increase In retail sales over the 1963 figures released In June, 1968 which showed Lou Is burg as the number one town In the state In retail sales growth. Franklin County was shown In the U. S. Chamber of Com merce 1963 listing as having $22,302,000.00 In Gross Retail Sales. The Chamber of Com merce release also showed figures for 1958 of )13,882, 000.00. The latest figures reveal that Franklin County Has more than doubled Its retail sales since Man Killed Near Pilot As Road Machine Falls A 43-year-old Kenly, Rt. 2 man died Instantly eerly Mon day morning when a D-7 Caterpillar overturned on him near Pilot, 1( according to Franklin County Sheriffs of ficers. Alton Fernnle Narron, was reportedly unloading the huge machine at the site of a pond being built on the land of a man Identified only as "Mr Bunn." Coroner James Edwards' report revealed an eyewitness to the accident. Tommy alley, 23, Route 1, Zebulon, according to the report, wlt nessed the death, but attempts to reach Bailey were unsuc cessful late Monday. Details of the happening were not ex plained. The accident occurred Just off N. C. 39 "below Pilot" according to officers, around 5:45 a.m. Monday morning. This Is tlx second unusual fatal accident to occur within the county lnthe past five daya. Alvln Junlous Marshall, 21 year-old county man died In stantly when a Jack gave away caudng the automobile under which he was working to topple last Wednesday around noon at Wood. Shooting Of Negro Home Reported The Franklin County Sheriffs Department du el oeed Monday that It 1* In vestigate the report of a shooting at the Katie J. Perry home on Lou Is burg Route 3, sometime laat Wednesday night. The Negro home was reportedly shot twice with a .22 caliber platol or rifle. One of the bullets entered a window and lodged In an In side wall) according to re ports; the other lodged In a window facing. The Sheriff's Department reported that although the taml|y was home, none of the members hssrd the shots fired. The incident was re ported to the Sheriff's De partment around 6 a. m. Thursday, according to re ports. Sheriff* Deputies Dave ftit Mn and Tom Powell said that there iu nothing In their In vestigation Indicating the In cldent had anything to do with the recent school suit since none of the Perry children were Involved In the Ase or had applied (or previously white achools. None of the family, according to the de puties, had any Idea of a reason for the shooting. School officials were silent on the report, but It was lsarned that they are con cerned In view of a ruling by Judge Algernon Butler ten days ago that Negro children and their parents be given s second choice period void ot Intimidation. The U. S. Justice Highway Contracts Already Top 1964 Raleigh. - With the awarding of contract a here Friday, the Stat* Highway Commlaaton topped by mora than a million dollars tha previous racord for total contract awarda In a single yaar since 1M?. Stat* Highway Commission Chairman J. M. Runt, Jr. satd that contracts totaling $12 ,276,829. ?? war* awarded Friday bringing tha total for 1M6 to fM.UB.Mt.SS. Tha previous high mark since 1944 waa reached In 1 9M when total contract* amounted to K3,ai6,446.B3. "This mail*," it Id Hunt; "thit wa alraady iur paaaad the prirloui record with tour lattlnga r*t to go thli mr." Hunt pointed oat thit pro. PMI of tb* currant Highway Commlailon In Ita axpandad procram eaaalMbamaaaurad by com pari nf tha total eoie tract awarda thla yaar to tha fM, 000, 000.00 total of IMS. Hunt vai hljh la hU pralaa at tb* Hlfhway Com mission member! and the professional staff of |he Commission for their efforts In maklnf solid progress In the highway pro gram. He also assured the people of North Ckrollna that "thU la only the beginning of a great new era," In highway construction In the State. Hunt made the announcement during the regular meeting of the Highway Commission here Friday. Department and attorney* for the eleven Negro plaintiff! had claimed that massive commu nity hostility had prevented Negroes from exerc lslng a free choice of schoola laat April. Che source reported that it was doubtful that this Inci dent would chance the status of the Interim Order or the school ault. In another totally disasso ciated Incident, Thurston Dunaton, N/m/48of Loulsburg was shot In the leg Sunday afternoon around i p.m. Just outside the Lou Is burg town Umlta. Sheriff's Deputies sre Investigating this Incident snd reported that Dunaton sp parently didn't know who shot him, other than that It was a Negro. Person Serves At Fire Convention Lou tabu rg Fire Cbmpany vu honored during the 79th Annual Firemen'* Convention, held laat week at Carolina Beach, by having R. O. J?r aon, Jr. aenre a a Sergeant at -Arma. tor the convenHon. Para on, who la. Chief of the local company, ?u named to the post by Praaldent Clai borne Lawaon of Durham. 1958. In the eight-year period, the count has shown an In crease In retail sales of $14,258,695.00. The latest figures reveal a decline In 1% taxable retail sale* from 91,011,370.00 laat year to $884,598.00 for 1985-68. Auto sales Increased from $3,302,828.00 In 1984-65 to $3,575,411.00 In 1965-68. Apparel held Its own In retail sales with the $457,523.00 re ported this week, Just slightly under the 1964-65 figure of $458, 354. 0Q. Automotive salea Increased from $5,433,780.00 In th? last report to $5,957,348.00 In the latest figures. Food, the largest Item In the retail sales listing, remained almost stable. Latest flgurea show a relative minor Increase from $4,278,790 In 1954-65 to $?, 754, 481.00 In 1955-66. Furniture remained vir tually the same at $803,454.00 and General Merchandise showed s slight increase In sales as did the unclassified group. Accident Statistics Vance Gramnllle Franklin Warren Acc. 27 4? 31 12 'i ue In]. Aec. e 14 15 5 44 Fatal Acc. 4 2 2 1 P. Damage I 8,625.00 $26,650.00 $22,800.00 ) 5,725.00 163,800.00 School Opening Three Weeks Away C&enlng day for the Franklin County schools Is about three weeks away, according to the scheduled approved recently by ths Board of Education. The some ovsr 6,000 stu dents In th* county system will rsport for orlsntatlon day on Wednesday, August 31, with the first dsy of school listed ss September 1. Monday, September S, Is slated as a holiday with schools closed. Teachers are to report on Monday, August 29. The last day of school for the students In the 1966-67 school term Is slated as Msy 11, 1967. The teachers complete their work on June 2, 1967. The Board of Education ex pressed Its hope that the schedule as adopted sometime ago would hold and that no delay In opening of schools would be necesssry. In a meeting last Monday, the Board discussed the possi bility of a delay but declined to change the original dates. In a meeting last week with local school committeemen, It was unanimously agreed that no delay would be made unless In caseof extreme emergency. The committeemen, when asked their feelings on the opening date, voiced 100 per cent approval of the schedule as approved by the Board earlier. Unless altered by unusual weather, other holidays are scheduled as Thanksgiving, November 14 and 28; Christ mas, December 22 through January 1 (seven school days) an