Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / March 12, 1986, edition 1 / Page 1
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(Sift Ularrat Semrfc Volume 89 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, March 12, 1986 Number 11 This Warren County farm pond awaits spring's official return in a little more than a week. With the arrival of the new season, fishermen will be at tracted to its shoreline and its still waters will reflect the activity of those who stashed their fishing gear last autumn. (Staff Photo by Dianne T. Rod well) Semester Plan Wins Approval Of Warren Board Of Education In response to a February deci sion by the Warren County Board of Education to discontinue the trimester system of scheduling at Warren County High School ef fective the end of this school year, Superintendent of Schools Mike Williams Monday night pre sented board members with the framework of a proposed sche dule for 1986-87. His recommen dation was approved by the board. The system, which is suggested by Williams and Principal James Wilkerson, calls for the school year to be divided into two 90-day semesters and the school day to be divided into six class periods. SB I Aid Asked In Fire Probe The State Bureau of Investiga tion has been called in to help determine the origin of a fire Saturday that totally destroyed a brick and frame home off of Baltimore Road about two miles from Warrenton's city limits. Warrenton Rural Fire Depart ment responded to the fire at the home of Loney and Eva Mae Davis shortly after 12:19 a.m. The home was totally engulfed by flames when firemen arrived, according to Captain Walter Gardner with the department, and high winds had caused the fire to spread to nearby woods. Gardner said there was no suspicion of arson and the SBI had been called in because firemen could not determine what ignited the fire. No one was home at the time of the fire. "Over the span of a week each class period will average 55 minutes in length (and) for the purpose of grading and reporting to parents the school year will be divided into six six-week grading periods," Williams said. Preparations for the change, Williams told board members, in clude the rewriting of the course description guide, revision of stu dent report cards and cumulative record forms, purchase of stu dent lockers and increasing the supply of textbooks. Among the issues still undecided is the future of the one-half-unit courses now available to students under the trimester system. The superintendent also reported to the board the provi sions of the policy on length of the instructional day adopted by the State Board of Education in December. "School systems throughout North Carolina will require a minimum of 5.5 hours of instructional time per student per day," Williams pointed out. "Instructional time is that time during which students are as signed to a teacher for the pri mary purpose of instruction," he said, and does not include ac tivities such as changing classes, homeroom , lunch, pep rallies and school dances. Williams' recommendation, which was accepted by the board, set the elementary schedule to begin with homeroom period at 8:15 a.m. and to end at 2:55 p.m., the middle school schedule to begin with homeroom at 8:15 a.m. and to dismiss at 3:02 p.m. And the high school day to begin at 8:10 a.m. with homeroom and to dismiss at 3:17 p.m. In another report by the superintendent, the board heard results of the 1985 state-required Competency Test administered last fall. Williams told the group that "basically, 85.9 percent of our juniors taking the test for the first time passed mathematics and 91.4 percent passed reading." A total of 186 juniors were tested and Williams noted that "if four more students had passed read ing and 10 more students had passed mathematics, then we would have met the state average for passing." In a comparison of the scores of students attending the 18 schools in region eight, which in cludes Warren County, the super intendent pointed out that in reading 11 systems had a higher percent of passing and five systems a lower percent than Warren County and in mathematics 14 systems had a higher rate and three systems a lower rate. Another set of com parative data by ethnic groups in dicated that both Indian and Black students taking the test in Warren County exceeded the statewide passing rates for their ethnic groups and that White students were 2.3 percent behind their ethnic group passing rate. Local NCAE president Faye Spence appeared before the board to request reinstatement of the $150 supplement for teachers which was in effect several years ago but which has been replaced by a $75 supplement. Board members assured the teachers' organization representative that the request would be considered when the budget-making process begins. At the request of Assistant Superintendent James Jordan, the board approved the purchase (Continued on page 10) Road Is Promised Developers Boost New 4-H Camp Plans By KAY HORNER News Editor Plans for a 4-H camp at the historic Nathaniel Macon Buck Spring Plantation were given a boost Monday night when county commissioners gave their assent to a proposal from an area development company that would add lakefront property and a gravel road to the 71-acre site near Macon. Nelson & Harris, Inc., a part nership of Clyde Harris of Wilson, and John T. Nelson, Jr. of Lit tleton, has agreed to give to the county two waterfront lots and to gravel to state specifications a road to the camp in exchange for an easement allowing them use of the road for across to property they hope U lop adjacent to the campsite. Nelson & Harris, Inc. has an option on the property, which is currently owned by Champion In ternational Paper Company. The lots would be deeded to the county, and the road would even tually be dedicated to the state, Glenn Woolard, 4-H extension agent, told the board. Nelson & Harris, Inc. also agreed to share road maintenance costs on a 50-50 basis with the county until the state assumes maintenance. The proposal, formulated dur ing a work session with Nelson and Harris, 4-H representatives, and commissioners, originally called for the county to provide gravel for road construction, estimated at $13,834, in exchange for timber cut in laying the roadbed. But in a compromise suggested by Commissioner J. T. Fleming, the company agreed to assume all costs of road construction, in exchange for timber harvested in construction of the road and elimination of a requirement that the road be completed this year. The board approved utilization of the historic site, located about 12 miles northeast of Warrenton, as a 4-H camp last year. Officials of 4-H noted at that time that they hoped to gain ac cess to Lake Gaston, located less than a half-mile from the coun ty's property. Richard E. Hunter, Jr., chair man of the board of directors of the camp, said Tuesday he was "very pleased" with the agreement. ' 'We have seen Nelson and Har ris developments on the lake, and we feel fortunate to have neighbors who take pride in their developments," Hunter said. "And having access to the lake will enhance the utilization of the camp." The campsite was at one time part of a 500-acre plantation owned by Macon, who served in the U.S. Congress from 1791 un til 1828, first as representative then as senator. One-quarter of the acreage now owned by the county was pur chased in 1901 and the remainder in 1934. A corncrib on the site was restored in 1976 by the Warren County Historical Association with grant funding and a Roadblocks Planned To Help Raise Funds The Warren County Jaycees will participate in a statewide Jaycee project to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Associa tion on Sunday, March 16. Roadblocks will be set up in Warren ton, Norlina and Macon and travelers are encouraged to contribute to the cause. Local project chairmen are Crandel Frazier and Arnold Williams. smokehouse was restored by the Warren County Bicentennial Commission in conjunction with celebration of the county's 200th anniversary. Work on the homeplace itself was under way in 1978 when the house caught fire and burned, and except for occasional maintenance by volunteers, the site has for the most part been neglected since that time. A master plan for the camp will be presented to the commis sioners in the near future, Woolard told the board. Areas Are Targeted Four Water, Sewer Projects Approved By MARY C. HARRIS Staff Writer Four water and sewer projects costing approximately $40,000 were targeted for proposed fund ing by the N.C. League of Muni cipalities State Water and Sewer Grant Program during the regu lar monthly meeting of the War renton Town Board Monday night. Presiding in the absence of Mayor B. G. White, Commis sioner Bobby Edmonds, mayor pro tem, informed the board of the 1985 General Assembly's ap propriation of $60 million for each year of the 1985-1987 biennium to support up to 50 percent of the cost for water and sewer im provements for city and county governments. In preparation for applying for a grant by the April 1 deadline, the commissioners passed a resolution which speci fied the projects. Included among the proposed improvements is the replacing of the worn-out existing sewer pum ping station located in B. W. (Tot) Currin's pasture with a sta tion with pumping capacity of 100,000 to 125,000 gallons per day to serve approximately 500 per sons and three industries. Esti mated cost is $10,500. The second sewer project, to cost approx imately $3,800, calls for replacing the Dameron Street sewer line with 400 feet of new six-inch pipe to replace the undersized four inch sewer pipe which is failing due to corrosion in the line, a line which serves 15 persons. Plans also include replacement of the Hall Street water line with 600 feet of new six-inch pipe to replace the undersized four-inch water line which is failing due to corrosion in the line. The line will provide water service and addi tional water pressure for 15 per sons and one laundromat and in creased pressure for one shopp ing center and 50 additional per sons at an estimated cost of $6,800. The commissioners fur ther proposed to replace 19 out dated and malfunctioning fire hydrants stationed throughout the town. The project, which will serve the entire population of 1,024, is expected to cost ap proximately $19,000. Commissioners resolved to use the town's water and sewer department budget to fund the local portion of the project, which amounts to about $20,000 under the terms of the grant. Commissioner Edmonds pointed out the availability of the town's one-half percent sales tax monies for water and sewer im provements. Plans are for the proposed water and sewer system im provements to be under con struction in early summer this year and to be completed in ap proximately one year. In other business before the board, approval was given the Warrenton Planning Board's recommendation that the three quarter-acre tract located on the Norlina Road adjacent to Lynch's Auto Repair be changed from the present R-20 (residential) to C-II Highway Business zoning status to allow for the relocation of War ren County Glass from its present Norlina address. The Planning Board based its recommendation on the results of a March 4 public hearing in which no opposition to Warren County Glass owner Frank Gupton's request was voiced. Gupton plans to con struct a 32-foot by 64-foot building on the property to house his business. Commissioner Edmonds in formed the board of the town's re cent notification by the State Department of Transportation of intention to resurface a portion of South Main Street, extending from the Baltimore Road to the town limits. April was set as the earliest possible date to proceed with the resurfacing, Edmonds noted. Mayor White and Commis sioner W. A. Miles were absent from the regular meeting due to their attendance at a national conference in Washington, D. C. for representatives of local Coun cil of Governments represen tatives. White is currently serv ing as president of the Kerr-Terr Council of Governments. Budget Year Looks 'Slim' Eva M. Clayton, chairperson of the Warren County Commis sioners, told fellow board members Monday that they would have to "stand up and be counted" when the time came to prepare the county's 1986-87 budget. Because of efforts to balance the federal budget, there will be fewer funds flowing to the local level from Washington, she noted. Among the programs she termed "likely" to go is the Revenue Sharing program, which has in the past provided as much as $482,000 in revenue for the county. "If it's saved this year, it will be a miracle," she said. "Over one-half of our funding will be Impacted," she com mented. "And we cant pass it on to the taxpayer." She said the public should understand that there are "fewer resources to respond to the needs." "Without any question," she said, "this is the year of the most challenge. Although the deepest cuts will come next year, this year we must come to grips with the (act that we will have less Mrs. Clayton's comments were | made during the board's i meeting, convened after public hearings on (Continued on page ?)
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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March 12, 1986, edition 1
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