The FrM?tn Times
? ? ?? ? ? ?- ? 1 ? 1 ? ' 1 ~ . V r ? aii c 1. 1 : _ r i..
Published Every Tuesday A Thursday
Serving All Of Franklin Counfy
Telephone Gy6-3283
Ten Cents
Louisburg, N. C., Tuesday , October 21, 1969
(Six Pages Today)
100th Year-Number 71
Three Persons Trapped Inside
(Set Picture Pare 4)
?Staff photos by Clint Fuller
Search For More Bodies
Three Die In Franklinton Accident
Three persons were crushed to
dMth Saturday night when the car in
which they were riding was struck by a
tractor-trailer on US-1 at Franklinton.
The three- all Negroes -were lulled in
stantly around 8:15 P.M. as their car
left a shopping center packing lot and
entered the busy highway.
State Trooper James E. Byrd of
Another Jailed
Woman Barred
From Louisburg
A 31-year-old Louisburg, Route 1,
woman was found guilty of multiple
charges in District Court here Monday
and ordered barred from the city
limits of Louisburg for five years.
Mary Helen Vaughn, w/f/31, was
convicted of using profane language,
careless and reckless driving, assault,
resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
Judge Linwood Peoples of Henderson
ordered "prayer for judgment con
tinued for five years on the condition
the defendant stay out of the city
limits of Louisburg for five years."
In another caae, Judge Peoples
ordered a local Negro woman jailed for
three days. Juliet Harvie was jailed
when she said that her husband,
Charlie Harvie, had not struck her or
pushed her around. She had signed a
warrant charging her husband with
asa jit but when she took the stand to
testify she refuted her previous claim*.
Charges against the man were dismiss
ed and the woman was ordered jailed
for three days and to pay costs in both
caaes.
NlcBride
New Legion
Commander
Clay McBride. Program Director of
WYRN Radio here,
?u ejected Com
mander of Jambeee
Post 106, Ameri
can Legion, here
Friday night.
Named to urn
with McBride this
year were: Roger
Kornegay, Vic*
Commander,
George Champion,
Jr., Adjutant; E. P.
Stalnback of Bunn,
Sgt. at Arm, and
T. T. Young of
Youngfriile, Chaplain
CLAY fcCBRIDF
The election were held In the
Legion's regular meeting here at a local
restaurant.
.1
Louisburg identified the dead as
Junius Burwell, 76; Annie Mae Jones,
55 and Tommy Jones, a nephew of the
woman, 10. All lived on Route 1,
Franklinlon.
Cleveland Griffin Whitley, c/m/40,
Rt. 2, Wake Forest, driver of the
Watson Poultry Co. truck was uninjur
ed in the accident. He reported that
the Burwell 'car came out of the
parking lot headed straight across the
highway toward an ice cream stand on
the other side. Whitley said he had n*
chance to avoid the accident and that
he did not know that the car was
crushed beneath his rig until he
brought it to a stop and got out. The
weight of the cab and part of the
trailer was directly on top of the
Burwell car. Both the truck and the
car were in a shallow ditch on the right
side of the highway.
Hundreds of spectators flocked to
the scene and traffic was rerouted
through Franklinton on US-l-A for
much of the time between the acci
dent and the time when the bodies
were removed some three hours later.
Wrecker crews were summoned .
from Henderson and with the aid of
rescue squad members from Louisburg
and Franklinton freed the bodies
shortly ifter 11 P.M. Franklinton fi*
men were on standby at the scene
because of a gasoline leakage In the
truck's gas tank and law officer! were
kept busy keeping spectators from
smoking near the wreckage.
The three fatalities brought to ten
the number of road deaths recorded
thus Ml this year in the county. This is
the largest number of road deaths
since 1964 when 14 peraons lost their
lives on Franklin highways and
matches the ten for the entire years of
1962 and 1963.
The toil la also among the third
worst in Franklin's history exceeded
only by two four-fatality crashes. One
occurred on March 8, 1946 when four
school children died in a bus accident
and the other happened on April 12.
1952 when four Negroes were killed in
a wreck at the intersection of US-4ftl
and NC-98, eleven miles south of
Louisburg.
There have been three other acci
dents in which three persons were
killed. Two took place in 19S7. On
* April 5 that year. ? 16-year-old Louis
burg youth, a local nurse and the
driver of the car carrying several nurses
tome from work, were tilled or died
Jones Gets 15 Years
Franklinton Pair Gets Suspended
Sentences In Kidnapping
A Kranklinton Negro couple receiv
ed sentences of niae months in jail
suspended for two yean in superior
court here last week as an outgrowth
of charges of kidnapping lodged
apnnst them in April. 1968. Queen
Esther Perry, 36, and Eddie Parker.
Jr.. 20, were placed on probation by
Judge Clarence W Hall and ordered to
pay court costs and $175.00 for attor
ney fees in the case.
The twosome were arrested on
April 9, 1968 after they allegedly
stopped a Franklinton school bus and
prevented the school children from
continuing to school. The pair report
edly said the children had no business
going to school on that day which was
the day of the funeral for Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
The charges, lodged by the State
Bureau of Investigation said the of
fense was kidnapping by detaining and
seizure.
Buddy Jones, n/m/18, pleaded
guilty to involuntary manslaughter and
received a term of imprisonment as a
youthful offender for a maximum of
15 yean. He was accused of murdering
Sylvester Jeffreys at a Negro night
spot on the night of February 16,
1969
Five Bunn area Negro youths were
given bom 2 to 3 yean suspended
sentences on chargea of breaking and
entering and larceny. They were Utry
Gtorft Davit. 17; Henry D?*l?, 17;
Clyde Natl, 17; Michael Davis. 16 and
Anthony (Tony) High, 17. TTiey were
ordered to pay $19.40 for restitution,
attorney! feaa and coats of court.
Other casts disposed of before
See CASES Page 4
later from injuries in an accident on
^ NC-&61. And on September 46, 1967.
the county coroner and two Negroes
were killed instantly in a head-on crash
on NC-39 north of Louisburg'.
On September 1, 1963, a Winston
Salem mother, her daughter and her
mother were killed in a head-on crash
on NC-98 west of Bunn.
The wont wreck in the general area
was a seven-fatality school but acci
dent near Middlesex on October 14,
1949. Six persons were killed just
across the Franklin line in Warren
County on April 1, 1956 when an
entirf family was wiped out and the
driver or the second car met death.
Five persons were killed near Pilot In
Wake County in a head-on accident on
October 7, 1965.
The fnost highway deaths recorded
in franklin County in recent years
occurred in 1958 when 15 deaths were
recorded .
Commissioners Say
Fifty Percent Of Sales Tax
Will Be Used To Reduce Rate
The Board of County Commis
sioners. meeting in special session here
Monday, passed a motion calling for
fifty percent of all funds received by
the county from the local option sales
tax to be used to reduce the ad
valorem or property tax in the county.
Commissioner Norwood Faulkner
made the motion and Commissioner E.
M. Sykes seconded it with all members
voting their approval. Alio included in
the motion was an agreement that
"the other 50% (would) be used im
proving the following services: Hos
pital, Fire and Rescue Services,
Schools, law Enforcement. Industrial
Growth, Agriculture, Health and
Social Services".
Attending Monday's session by in
vitation of the Board were Asher
Johnson, WYRN News -Director; Clint
Fuller, Managing Editor of The Frank
lin Times; John Ihrie, President,
Franklin County Farm Bureau and
David Daniel. Director of College Rela
tions. Louisburg College.
Daniel told the group that a sales
tax b the "moat equitable" of all taxes
and noted that there are "always
inequities in property taxation" be
cause of the "human element -judg
ment decisions". He added that he
supports the local option sales tax
measure because it will "help us to
keep the ball rolling" in local develop
ment. \
Ihrie disclosed that the state farm
Bureau Directors had gone on record
favoring the tax and said that the
Franklin Directors are also behind it.
"We have endorsed the County Com
missioners' resolution and are heartily
in favor of it and we are going to work
for it", Ihrie said. -
One estimate made at Monday's
meeting indicated that 50% or the
county's first half -that portion col
lected and returned here-could result
in a minimum of a 15 cent cut in
property tax rate When 50% of the
county's second half -based on popula
tion-is applied the reduction in the
county rate could be much greater.
The application of the remaining fifty
percent to other county needs could
prevent an increase in the tax rate over
the next several years and result in an
even greater savings to local property
owners, it was explained.
All 100 counties will vote on the
local option tax on Tuesday, Novem
ber 4, two weeks from today.
Escapee Captured, Bound
Over On- More Charges
Larry Keith Sommenett. 27, who
neaped la* Thunday morning from
the local Jail after overpowering jailer
W. L. Faulkner, wis recaptured around
1 P.M. Thunday by Deputy Sheriff
Uoyd Gupton. In Diftrtct Court here
Monday. Sommeraett waa bound over,
to Superior Court fadnf a boat of new
charfea.
The Oiaiiotte man, sentenced to 40
to 60 yean In a 1966 armed robbery
of Thompaon'i Hardware and Feed
Store at Franklinton. now facea
cbargaa of armed robbery, aaaeuit,
theft and aacape. He had been return
ed to Franklin County from Central
Priaoa for a poet conviction hearing
dated for Superior Court held here laat
week.
*
Sommersett, also sentenced to 19
yean In prison for robbery In Char
lotte, locked jailer Faulkner in a cell
around 8 A.M. last Thursday, took the
jailer's gun, money and car and was
free for some four hours before he was
spotted walking along US-401 north of
Loulsburg around 1 P.M.
According to reports, Sommersett
abandoned the Faulkner car near
Ingleslde five miles north of Loulsburg
and walking in the woods, lost his
direction and headed back toward
Loulsburg. He was spotted about 1
mile north of town.
The $116 allegedly taken from
Faulkner, the gun and the car were
recovered.
Mrs. Pernell Named To Group
Mrs. Betsy Pernell, Chairman of the
Franklin County Democratic Execu
tive Committee, was named last week
by Governor Bob Scott, as a member
of the Study Commission appointed to
analyze the Democratic Party struc
ture in the state.
Serving with the Franklin leader,
the Governor said, "Will be former
governors and former chairmen of the
Party, lawyers, educators, and stu
dents, labor leaders and businessmen,
young Democrats and old Democrats,
black Democrats and white Democrats
and business women and housewives".
Wilson attorney James Hunt was nam
ed chairman of the 60-member group.
"In brief, those chosen come from
all walks of life and represent a num
ber of political philosophies. This is
how it should be, for the proposed
Study Commission's work surely will
be doomed if all the people are not
represented in such an Important un
dertaking."
Scott pointed out the group was.
large because he wanted to insure a
broad base of representation at each of
four regional hearings which will be
held across the state by the Commis
sion.
Then he turned to the Party's cur
rent Plan of Organization and made
some observations:
"I am for change," he said, "but
t
not just for the sake of change. Some
one noted recently that there has been
only one major change in our Plan of
Organization in the past 50 years. I,
for one. look on that as an indication
that our current Party plan cant be all
wrong."
The Governor went on to say this
did not mean that a thorough study
See GROUP P?ge 4
Cafe Owner
Shoots
Customer
Jack Leonard, n/m/56, operator of
a local pool room and restaurant on
Bull Run Alley near the Loulsburg
Police Station, shot a customer al
legedly giving him trouble here Mon
day Alght.
Leonard hit John King, n/m/46. In
both legs with a .46 caliber pistol
around 7:30 P.M. Monday night. King,
of Rt. 3, Loulsburg, was taken to
Franklin Memorial Hospital by the
Loulsburg Rescue Service. Police Chief
Earl Tharrington indicated that he
would problabty charge Leonard with
anault in the caae.