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Published t.cr\ Thu'sildy Ht
Raccrd Printing Compony
H > * A i'renlon N C 27(j8y
BIGNALL JONES Editor
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES: . ; A f MAH s- ,
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Propriety Questioned
Citizens of Warrenton can
rightfully question the proprie
ty. if not t:.e lega!it> . of an
attempt earlit r this month to
v\ ithhold from p u: •. u v it w
certain town t xpenditures
During a hastily called meet
ing which followed an exi utive
session, the board agree i to set
the salary for the town n mager
a' a figure of $16,000, pr vM-'d
an expected federal grant 1.received
next month I'ht
minutes of the meeting sh w
■ n 1 > that the town m a n a g e r
would be paid a salar> f $14.000
per year
What -ome might view as a
gentlemen s agreement' to
guarantee the ti wn manager the
salary authorized b> the current
year's budget, others might
view as a less than honorable
move to keep the public
unaware of what goes on at town
hall
What is truly disturbing to us
is that the action taken by the
town board came during a
meeting at which no representative
of the public was present
One wonders in how many other
instances secret sessions have
been held to conduct the public's
business privately
Despite voiced concerns of
several commissioners over the
number of executive and called
sessions of the town board, the
tendency toward these sessions
does not seem to be diminishing
During the past 12 months, the
town board had an inordinate
number of sessions in which the
public was excluded or uninvited
If the records maintained by
the town are as incomplete and
as obviously misleading as the
ones pertaining to the meeting of
July 11, one can only speculate
as to what really w ent on during
those sessions
Minutes of the board show that
an executive session was held on
July 12, 1976; a called meeting
was held on July 19, 1976; an
executive session was held on
August 9, 1976; a called meeting
was held on August 30, 1976; a
called meeting was held on
September 8, 1976; an executive
session was held on December
13, 1976; an executive meeting
was held on January 10 of this
year; an executive session was
held on February 14 of this year;
an executive session was held on
March 14 ut this war an
executive M'SMiiii was held en
\pril 18 uf this year a called
meeting was held on May 2 of
this \ car. a called executive
session was held on May 24 of
this year, followed by a second
called meeting on the same date
to authorize sale of town
equipment an executive session
w as held on .! une 14 of tlm y ear
and finally a called meeting
was held on June 21 of this year
t' • hear com merits on the budget.
and since the budget involved
personnel, it was suggested that
this meeting at one point be
. >sed to the publii Fortunatea
that suggestion was not
followed
With a penchant for privacy
such as suggested by town board
action during the past year, it is
small w onder that the press and
the public were not welcome
when the controversial question
of the town manager's salary
was decided.
Almost eight years ago the
town board ordered that the
town publish in the newspaper a
financial statement twice yearly
This was done twice, then
inexplicably abandoned It's
probably just as well that no
financial statement reflecting
the latest secret action of the
board will be forthcoming. It is
difficult to see how the public
accounting and the private
provisions of salary could be
reconciled in any truthful
financial statement.
During the last session of the
General Assembly, a bill to
expand the open meeting
provisions of the General
Statutes met vigorous opposition
from the N C. League of
Municipalities. In light of the
increasing trend of town
officials toward blocking the
public's right to know, it is small
wonder
It can be argued that the
Board of Town Commissioners
of Warrenton has a legal right to
conduct certain business in
executive session. What has
happened is that this right has
been abused, and the spirit of
the law has been broken. The
matter of letting the people
know how their money is spent is
as much a matter of propriety as
legality, and the citizens of
Warrenton seem to have been
shortchanged on both counts.
Hail The Crape Myrtle
The Smithfield Herald
One of the consoling feats of Mother
Nature this astoundingly hot summer
is the beautiful pinkish-red blossom of
the crape myrtle tree
There are some beautiful specimens
of this plant throughout Johnston
County this July
The Sanford Herald reminded us the
other day that the crape myrtle was
advocated for the South years ago by
Clarence Poe. the late editor of the
Progressive Farmer magazine The
crape myrtle is a native of India, so it is
impervious to drought and heat and
also less susceptible to insect attacks
than other Southern shrubs
Years ago there was a proposal to
make the crape myrtle Smithfield's
official town tree. That idea surely has
merit, for the crape myrtle abounds
throughout town this summer (Smithfield's
stately oaks, however, might
have a legitimate protest if we did
single out the crape myrtle above all
other trees.)
Smithfield is, nevertheless, going to
have a "Crape Myrtle Street " The
Community Appearance Commission
is promoting the planting of crape
myrtles along Bridge Street eastward
from the N'euse River One of these
days this street will be the town's July
show-place
Let us enjoy the beauty of the crape
myrtle For it reminds us that life can
continue to thrive despite mid-summer
temperatures above 100 degrees.
CAREER WOMAN?
Overheard She was my secretary
before we were married Now she's the
treasurer '- Bob Goddard in St Louis
Globe-Democrat
Money is a good thing to have It
frees you from doing things you dislike
Since I dislike doing nearly everything,
money is handy Groucho Mari
Philosophy consists largely of one
philosopher arguing that all others are
jackasses He usually proves it, and 1
should add that he also usually proves
that he is one himself H L Mencken
Mostly Personal
Local Fire Company
Has Great History
H\ BK.NALL JONES
Don Stith, photographer
tor The Warren Record,
recently became a member
of the Warrenton City Fire
Department, organized here
more than a hundred years
ago as the Warrenton
Colored Volunteer Fire
Department, one of the few
such departments remain
ing in the state A number of
\ cars ago someone brought
me thi front page of the
W ,,i renton ilazette, issue of
;cf ttie date of which 1 can
. ; i emcmber
! ■ in issue repoi ted that on
•t <• 11 * night citizens of
\\ ,i • ii had gathered in
t r ■ >m at Warrenton
, ,.s th« establishment
■ i !iri v wiiipi*ny at
a , • .t :i at.d that it was
, , ih.it iw ii fire com.
, sti.'iild be organized,
a 1 te 'iinpanj and a
, i mpany I'hat is
• • , . i s tie w.spa per a ccou nt
r:,i v i seen of tlic
: /.iti -n uf a volunteer
• ., ::.pan> at V\ arrenton
V, i , v. aim tu Warren
<11>i ttiere was onl>
. , iiupanv a blai k
: j , s in the tow II So w e
■ pi sc that tfie w hite
:i.;m \ was ver orga
.) ; siu-n fell bv the
VS .1 ^ slut'
V, ,ii r : Alston, the first
Hi k I- ii e i hief in Warreni.
r at 1< ast the first one
her i -inc. 190(i has compil,
i r i-ter of the Warrenton
I , .i i' i Volunteer Fire
Department from 1868 to
; iti!) which would tend to
show that the present
company was organized in
1868 Firemen and officers
were all black but were
under the direction of a
white fire chief This position
was held for many
years by the late W H Burroughs
Walker Burwell was
Fire Chief at the time of his
untimely death, and I think
that A S Johnson was the
last fire chief before Mr
Alston was named to this
position
Don Stith is a most
enthusiastic fireman and
spent his vacation attending
a fire school at Louisburg,
with other Warrenton firemen
and returned with a
picture of members of the
North Carolina Fire Association
attending a convention
in Tarboro in 1954, which
brought back memories of
an extraordinarily fine
group of former black citizens
of Warren County. As a
boy and young man 1 was
impressed with the pride of
these firemen in their work
and with the trophies they
won in competition with
other "colored" firemen
from over the state. We
often printed the proceedings,
and on many occasions
it fell my lot to set the type
on a linotype which I had
learned to operate as a
teenager I set the constitution,
the by-laws, and the
beautiful firemen's burial
ceremony.
In my old age I began to
realize what a remarkable
number of colored men have
been residents of Warrenton,
and have often wished
that someone would write a
history of black people in
Warrenton and Warren
County, many of which I
was to know and to admire
Th~ names of a surprising
number of these are to be
found in the roster of The
Warrenton Colored Volunteer
Fire Department 1
marvel at the accomplishments
of man\ of them
Members of this fire
company in 1868 were
William A Plummer. Haywood
Arrington, Vick Falkner,
Harry Green, John Hymon,
Daniel Johnson, Weldon
Montgomery, Jimmie
Ransom, Fill Rogers. John
S Plummer, and Tom
Thornton These men must
have been hardly more than
boys in 1868 when they first
became firemen, for some
of them were active men
here during my childhood
and teenage years in Warrenton
and were still active
firemen
John S Plummer was
quite a remarkable man,
highly respected, a successful
businessman, and the
ancestor of two grandsons
who have been distinguished
actors When we moved to
Warrenton he and his family
lived in the old Peter Davis
Store Building, next to the
la* office of Banzet and
Banzet on Front Street, and
was the town's iceman until
Warrenton bu.lt a plant,
storing the ice in the
basement of his home He
also operated a livery stable
on the large lot back of his
home At that time he was
president of the North
Carolina Colored Volunteer
(• ire Association, which it is
logical to assume he helped
organize In later >ears his
son Baker IMummer was
also to ho''J this position
In 18t>8 Jimmie Hansom
.A1s also a member of the
, ompain He and his
brothers i an a oar. lage
tact or > near the present site
of the \N al i en 1 heatre Here
,t is said that the coffin m
w hu h \finie Carter 1 ee w as
buried was made A brother
of jimin it'. J ohn Hansom,
w^s a member of the Board
t,f I'nwi ' ommissioners in
the 1899's ln his later years
junmu was an undertake.
\not.er of the charter
members was .lohn Hymon.
who was born a slave iri
1H-411 Ibis is likelv the John
\ it a'lis Usui1 in who was
elected a member of
i iuigTess from 18(5 to 18, <
In the roster of firemen
f r,1868 lo 1899 the name of
.1 lUmon is missing but
r! < names of many other
firemen here during my
hildhood are to be found
Among these were 1 eter
Collins, recording and corresponding
secretary of the
company for many years
He was charged with having
the minutes of the annual
conventions printed and
usually worked with us in
this task year aft Ar year,
and was a frequent visitor in
this office. 1 also remember,
perhaps from my days as a
Boy Scout, that he was an
excellent cook, particularly
skilled in the preparation of
Brunswick stewIn
the roster with Peter
are many others whom I
remember with pleasure,
but space dictates that I
mention them in another
article.
BALI. OF FIRE Erup
lions such as this are nb
served b\ geologists of
the I nited Slates Cieolog
ical Surve\ at Kilauea.
Hawaii
Security Tightened At Prison Camp
(Continued from page 1)
that the unit had been
renovated at an expense of
|21,594 31 for better security
This included construction
of two towers and a
fence around the recreation
field, the officers' quarters
and extending the fence to
ten feet in height
Raymond Hayes, superintendent
of the local unit,
reported to the town board
upon request that the
records at the unit revealed
14 escapes in 1975 with eight
attempts and eight escapes
and five attempts in 1976
Hayes said that all of the
prisoners w ere recaptured a
short distance from the unit
except two These men were
caught in other counties
about a week following their
escape
While eight escapes may
seem like plenty for some
citizens* correction personnel
at the local unit have
tightened security
Before February 1975, the
local unit had been a
minimum security unit
This meant that prisoners
there were not excessively
dangerous ami most of the
(Times committed by them
were small Loral civic
groups could visit the unit
for parties or recreation
Aith the prisoners Fscapes
rareh occurred Most of the
men imprisoned then were
40 years old or older
In February, 1975. the unit
was changed to a minimum
securiU close housing a
misdemeanor and detainer
unit Most prisoners are
serving time for misdemeanors,
although some arc
being held on felony
detainers Now. 'oo. the
average age of the pr.-oners
is 24
Immediately foil /wing an
inmati escapc, all law
enforcement officers as well
as all prison officials,
including off-duty correctional
officers, are alerted
The men set up stations
along 401 South of the city
limits or along the Henderson-War
rent on highway
Local police patrol the west
end of Warrenton or help the
unit in other areas of town
as needed.
This is very expensive. All
correctional officers for
Warren County as well as
those from other neighboring
units, must be paid.
Off-duty correctional officers
can add time spent in the
search as duty time, thus
giving them overtime " an
extra day off Auxiliary
policemen are often needed
in Warrenton to cover for
the regular police on patrol
The Department of Correction
personnel are paid
through the State while
police are paid by the town
Whether state or town, the
money normally comes
from tax One search effort
last summer continued for
over a week with full teams
of personnel being paid
The local unit of the
Department of Correction
has two cell blocks with a
maximum capacity of 80
men On Monday morning
the unit held 73 men It
includes a cafeteria, officers'
quarters i which includes
the offices i, a recreation
area and a confinement
area for punitive purposes
The Warrenton unit employs
a superintendent, lieu
tenant, five sargeants, two
treatdient personnel, a food
supervisor and 14 correctional
officers The correctional
officers more corrimonl)
known as prison
guards, work on shifts
extending around the clock
Prison officials reported
that at least four correctional
officers work within
the fenced compound during
a shift This would m -..n
that four men have the responsibility
to oversee 73
prisoners using Monday's
figure as an example
However, the correctional
officers are not permitted to
carry weapons into the
compound area because of
the dangers involved Thus,
they have no security for
themselves or immediate
retaliation for riots or other
instance,' begun in the area
This also limits the security
when a prisoner decides to
scale the fence
The General Statutes of
North Carolina limit the
correctional officers' response
to an escape The
Statutes state that a
misdemeanor prisoner cannut
b" fired upon while
fleeing When a prisoner
jumps the fence the guards
can only give warning to
other i ersonnel and the
chase is on Their chances of
capturing the escapee while
fleeing the immediate area
is limited by the rules
governing the officials.
Scaling the fence is no
easy task The fence around
the local unit is a ten foot
high chain fence topped with
about 18 inches of razor
ribbon wire This wire is
stainless steel to prevent
rust and is coiled in layers
To jump the fence an
escapee must scale the
ten-foot chain fence and get
through the wire. Most of
the escapees are cut painfully
by the wire
In the Friday, July 15.
News and Observer, W L
Kautzky. deputy state prisons
director, in giving
testimony on last year's fire
at the McDowell prison, was
quoted as saying, "the five
people on duty at the
McDowell prison at the time
of the fire did not constitute
adequate staffing under
department guidelines "
McDowell and Warren
units are basically the same
type structures. If the
deputy state prisons director
believed that McDowell
was understaffed with five
men. then surely the local
unit is understaffed with
four men per shift
The answer to the large
number of escapes and the
concern of the public seems
to lie w ithin the Department
of Correction and the
General Assembly Laws
made govern the unit and
the Department has no
choice but to follow th- rules
and work with monies
allotted them
Mitchell, who escaped last
Thursday, in addition to two
previous escapees, remains
at large. Luck has 'jeen with
the prison oif.cials in
recapturing the escaped
prisoners But with the unit
so close to the town and
numberous homes surrounding
the facility, a
desperate inmate may
change the luck
INSlRf
"Not Another
Accident"
Auto insurance costs
have been increasing
because accidents have
been increasing, and
auto repairs and injury
awards are trending
higher. The Warrenton
Insurance Agency does
offer a Safe Driver
Discount to the driver
with a three-year record
of no moving traffic
violations.
UK si iu
WARRENTON INSURANCE AGENCY INC.
U MONRO) (. XRDNKR. PrePHON'F
<, \C!>NH< |: .(,
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has the ways
to increase
your means.
Because United Federal has (1 saving plan to fit your exact needs From
passbook savings to an Individual Retirement Account
Plus every account is insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance
Corporation
United Federal's strong and stable, too Wc\v been in business since 1()02
and we ve never missed an interest payment
We've also quadrupled in the last five wars And we now have offices
conveniently located in Rocky Mount. I.ouisburg. Raleigh. Cary. Greensboro
and Charlotte
So come 'o United IVdeinl and open <\n accmint lUiSaoodwiwtosavemoney
UNITED
FEDERAL
1 lb South f ranklin Strtvt Rorkv. Mount 202- North Main S'lnvt I onisl im .ln 'iue i i , .
Ralnqh a<„>s, from f as,„a.t. S <1 Kilciairi' I ami Koa.i.Carv 2 1 », | ,11 ^
r: (l v. „a, <^i i; . , , t Koad. (.>recmb< >ro
< ' U North Sharon Amitv Road ("h.nlotl,
MemUn I SI |(