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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXV NO. 26 USPS 182-860 KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 JUNE 19. 1980 12 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Faison Citizens Oppose Recreation Budget Cut
By Emily Kllbtle
Opposition to the S10.500
cut in recreation funds was
expressed during a public
hearing on the Faison town
budget held last Thursday.
Faison town commis
sioners met with over 100
town citizens at the local fire
station to discuss the 1980-81
town budget. However, no
questions or interest was
expressed by the citizens in
budget matters outside of the
recreation department funds.
During a budget session at
the regular town board meet
ing June 4, commissioners
voted three to two to cut the
recreation funds from
$21,500 to $10,000.
Presenting a petition
signed by 330 Faison citizens
supporting a continued full
time recreation program.
Director of the Recreation
Commission Ken Avent said
inly 15 persons contacted
were against a recreation
program in Faison. The
population of Faison is 598
j50, and Avent said a clear
majority of the townspeople
tad signed the petition sup
porting full-time recreation.
He added that 231 of the 348
registered voters had signed
requesting the recreation
funds not be cut. Not all the
citizens contacted to sign the
petition were those who par
ticipated in the recreation
programs, Avent said.
Faison recreation programs
involve about 2,000 partici
pants each month, he added.
Avent said that a recrea
tion program in Faison would
not be as successful without
the citizens outside of town
in the North Duplin school
district. And, because the
county citizens participate,
the townspeople benefit from
an increased variety of pro
grams the recreation depart
ment can offer. The educa
tion system benefits from the
children having participated
in organized activities, and
the town merchants receive
an economic benefit from the
department, Avent added.
"The recreation depart
ment realizes the burden of
the town board, and in the
future we plan to seek other
sources of funds. But, until
then, we are asking the
Board to bear with us,"
Avent said.
The sidewalks and streets
of Faison need repairs. Ella
McKeel said. McKeel stated,
as a senior citizen she pre
ferred the tax money be
spent on sidewalks. Because
many citizens have no
transportation and walk
everywhere in town, side
walks are needed for safety.
She added, because the
recreation program offers no
programs in which senior
citizens can participate,
$10,000 would be a sufficient
amount of money for the
department.
"Ceramics, oil painting,
and the library program
planned for this summer are
programs that the elderly can
participate in," Avent said.
"The recreation program is
trying to branch out and
reach every person in
Faison."
"1 am probably the oldest
person here," said Rachel
Stroud. "1 appreciate the
consideration Faison gives
its elderly and I would rather
have a recreation program
for the children, than more
sidewalks."
Tom Adams commented
$10,000 is enough money to
play ball at the recreation
department, and the recrea
tion program should be
where the people live.
Calypso donated 51,000 to
the Faison recreation depart
ment; if our $10,000 is not
enough, then let Calypso
have the program, Adams
said. The $1,000 donation
from the town of Calypso to
the Faison recreation depart
ment was made as a result of
the use of the recreation
facility by Calypso citizens.
"1 am one of the outsiders
referred to," said Bill Lewis,
"And, 1 appreciate the fact
that we can come and bring
our children to the Faison
recreation department."
"A cut in the funds would
be a cut in the fun." said
Michael Miller, a former
Faison Little Leaguer, who is
now coaching a Little League
team.
Mayor Bill Carter read a
letter supporting the
continued funding of a full
time recreation Dropram
from the Charles F. Cates
Pickle Company. Carter
added that 55 percent of the
taxes collected in Faison
each year is paid by Cates
Pickle Company.
The logical budget alloca
tion for the recreation de
partment would be $16,000,
said George Wallace. A
recreation budget of $10,000
would only pay the director's
salary, not paying for any
utilities or supplies during
the coming year, he added.
"We heard at the last
meeting ot the town board
that money for sidewalks
cannot even be used. The
$5,000 (revenue sharing
money) could be used for'
vehicle replacement instead
of sidewalks, and then the
$16,000 could remain for
recreation," Wallace asid.
Representatives from the
Faison Women's Club and
the Sesame Club were pres
ent and sopke to support a
full-time recreation program.
A Board meeting on June
16, at the town hall, was
announced at the close of the
public hearing. According to
Mayor Carter, the Board will
discuss and adopt the 1980
81 budget at the Monday
meeting.
OPPOSE RECREATION j
FUND CUT - George Wal- (
lace, director of the Goshen ,
Medical Center of Faison, .
pictured on the left, was one .
of 111 Faison citizens to J
appear before the town ,
Board of Commissioners to |
oppose the $10,500 cut of .
recreation funds.
23 Duplin Graduates Fail
Spring Competency Test Results
I By Emily Killette
Duplin County public
schools awarded 23 certifi
cates of attendance to seniors
who completed all the re
quirements for graduation
but failed the competency
test, Assistant Superintend
dent of Duplin County
Schools Gary Sanderson
said.
Included in the 23 are 15
I educable mentally retarded
students, five extended day
students, and three students
from the county high schools.
According to Sanderson, the
seniors were given the
opportunity to take the com
petency test a third time this
year and only one additional
person passed, lowering the
number of high school stu
I dents from four to three. The
' 1980 graduating class is the
first group of seniors to be
required by law to pass the
test in order to receive a high
school diploma.
Sanderson said students
begin taking the competency
test in the 11th grade. Any
student who should be in the
11th grade but was held
back, or a student who will
graduate within the next two
. years, is allowed by law to
' take the competency test, he
added. Each student should
have two years remaining in
high school in which to pass
the test.
According to the results of
the fall competency test, 592
students took the math
portion of the competency
test and 65 failed. Taking the
test for the third time were
i 16 seniors not classified as
' EMR, and six failed. And,
593 students took the reading
portion of the test with 53
failing; nine of the students
were seniors taking the
reading portion for the third
time, and five failed. There
were 19 EMR students who
did not take the competency
test in the fall but had failed
the reading portion of the
competency test during the
. 1978-79 school year. And,
twenty EMR students had
failed the math portion and
did not take the test in the
fall. However, twelve EMR
students did take the test for
the first time in the fall, and
one passed in each portion o(
the competency test.
Any student who fulfills
the requirements for grad
uation but does not pass the
competency and graduates
with a certificate instead of a
diploma can continue to take
the competency test until the
age of 21. Remedial help for
students not passing the
competency test is available
in the public schools.
More detailed results of
the Aoril comoetencv test
will be released during the
next meeting of the Board of
Education, Sanderson said.
First Financial Savings
And Loan To Open
Kenansville Office
First Financial Savings
and Loan Association, Inc. of
Kinston and Goldsboro has
filed with the N.C. Savings
and Loan Commission an
application to establish an
office in Kenansville.
First Financial, which
began operations in Febru
ary of 1978, is the largest
investor-owned, state
chartered savings and loan
association in the state. It
has assets of over $26.5
million and has made mort
gate loans of nearly $19
million in Lenoir and Wayne
counties. Owned by Lenoir
and Wayne County inves
tors. First Financial is the
first association of its type to
file an application for a third
office.
C. Felix Harvey, chairman
of the board, said that the
opening of a Duplin County
office in Kenansville is an
expression of confidence in
future agricultural and
industrial growth of the area.
T.J. Turner of Pink Hill, a
director, expressed the
opinion that First Financial's
realistic mortgage policies
and its innovative services,
such as 6% passbook ac
counts and high interest
certificates of deposits, will
fill a need in the community.
Rose Hill Cuts Tax Rate
The Rose Hill town board
cut the town property tax
rate 5 cents per $100 valu
ation at its June meeting.
The new rate will be 70 cents
per $100.
Commissioner Keith Hin
son, who made the motion,
said the 5-cent tax cut would
reduce town revenues by
$7,500. "The $7,500 is not
very much, but the gesture is
very important," he said.
"People out there need a tax
break."
Because the proposed
$206,200 town budget was
based on a tax rate of 75
cents per $100, it will have to
be refigured. A special
budget meeting was set by
the board for Tuesday, June
17 at the town hall.
The 70-cent levy will raise
$105,000. The remainder of
tjie budget funds come from
state and federal sources.
Rose Hill became the first
town in Duplin County this
spring to announce a tax
reduction.
The second public heating
on a U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Develop
ment grant request of
S813.000 was held with no
revisions offered to in pro
posals. HUD has approved
the town's preappllcation. a
step officials say means final
approval is virtually assured.
Money from the grant will
be used to finance water,
sewer, street and housing
improvements in the
northern section of the town.
Town Planner Woody
Brinson said it now appears
the funds will become avail
able in October.
The board directed Mayor
Ben Harrell to ask state Rep.
Doug Clark to submit a bill
authorizing Rose Hill to in
crease its automotive license
tag fee from SI to a maxi
u I
mum of $5.
Harrell reported he had
received complaints about
businesses being open on
Sundays. He said Town At
torney Richard Burrows will
attempt to revise the town
ordinance regarding Sunday
openings, which, he said, is
unenforceable as presently
written.
The present ordinance
states nothing can be sold in
the town from 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. and from 7 p.m.
to9 p.m. on Sundays.
The board approved an
ordinance allowing emer
gency vehicles traveling
within the city limits to
exceed the posted speed
limits by 10 miles per hour.
Recie Eure asked the
board to save a large oak tree
standing in tjhe center of a
proposed roadway in a new
subdivision which has not
been accepted by the town.
*
Recreation Department Request
Aid Of Warsaw Commissioners
A delegation of people
from the Warsaw Recreation
^Department met with the
Warsaw Town Board June 9
to ask for action on the
building of the municipal
park at the recreation center.
According to Recreation
Director Neale Turlington,
the town is in danger of
losing the $50,000 grant from
the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation. The project
which began three years ago
has come to almost a com
plete standstill, Turlington
said. Funds raised for the
project total $30,000, but
$50,000 is needed to match
the grant. Town Clerk Alfred
Herring said that the entire
grant would have to be used
in order to get any of the
funds. The deadline for the
completion of the $100,000
project is December of 1980
Included in the project is a
Softball and midget football
field combination with lights
and bleachers, a concession
stand, picnic area, jogging
trails, children's play area
and parking lots. Grading the
Softball field was scheduled
to begin the first of May, but
had not begun at the time of
the Board meeting.
"The Board was not aware
of a fund-raising problem
until last week when Neale
(Turlington) appeared at the
budget meeting with
requests for more funds,"
Commissioner Frank Steed
said. "The recreation com
mission may need help rais
ing the additional money, but
it appears they have not
made an all-out effort."
Giaham Hood, president
of the Warsaw Chamber of
Commerce, acted as spokes
man for the recreation dele
gation. A public meeting
with the recreation commis
sion was scheduled for June
16 at the town hall.
According to Commis
sioner John Weatherly, the
Board lived up to their end of
the recreation project. A
recreation commission was
appointed and the town
donated $17,000 to the
project, he said. Serving on
the recreation commission
are Colon Quinn, Bobby
Batts, Wiley Killette, J.G.
Henry and Carolyn Mclver.
The town clerk stated he had
been instructed by the Board
to send a letter to each
member of the recreation
commission. The letter asked
each member of the recrea
tion commission to contact
the Board on their willing
ness to continue to serve on
the commission. Members
wishing to be replaced will
be dropped from the com
mission and a seven-member
commission will be
appointed. Presently only
five members are serving on
the commission. Commis
sioner Steed added that addi
tional funds from the town
may be available for the
project when the 1980-81
budget is cr^picte'*'
Contracts for he town
water system improvement
project were tentatively
approved by the commis
sioners. A distribution im
provement contract totaling
S929.049.50 was awarded
Cumberland Paving of
Fayetteville. The well
drilling contract for $185,530
was awarded E.L. Register
of Rose Hill. The 300.000
gallon storage tank contract
was awarded Universal of
Atlanta, Ga. The total water
system improvement project
will cost approximately $1.5
million.
The Board unanimously
approved the rezoning of the
block next to the Warsaw
Baptist Church. The block
was rezoned to a commercial
area. The biock had been
residential. The town
planning board had recom
mended the rezoning
because of plans to use the
old Warsaw Baptist Church
educational building as the
future Warsaw Medical
Center. Wade Carlton
opposed the rezoning of the
area because it would allow
the Medical Center to locate
across from his home.
Ralph Vernon appeared
before the Board to request
$1,638 for the Warsaw
Rescue Department. The
money will be used to buy six
portable fire and rescue
alarms for the members of
the -escr departm-nt. Ac
cording to Vernon, each unit
will cost $273 and will be
ordered on contract through
the Duplin County Emer
gency Services Department.
The town commissioners
approved the request by the
American Legion that the old
police department be used by
their organization for Friday
night bingo. And, the old
Branch Bank building is to be
sold through public bids.
Parking at the Warsaw
Recreation Department was
changed by the Board: park
ing will be allowed from 9
a.m. to 9 p.m. only.
"With the park project
underway and the complaints
from the residents in that
area, we (commissioners)
have two good points to stop
the parking at the Recreation
Department," Commissioner
John Weatherly said. A 9
p.m. to 9 a.m. no parking
ordinance was passed by the
Board.
Magnolia To
Add Full-Time
Clerk
See Page 2
DUPLIN YOUNG FARMERS' TOUR ? The Duplin County
Young, Farmers' organization met last Thursday for a
county tour involving nine stops. The group, led by the
Duplin County Agricultural Extension Department,
stopped at demonstrations for weed control, tobacco
nitrogen and fertilizer, sandy land corn varietie^
irrigation, swine farm, and the use of swine waste as
fet'.iliittf. Pictured above are two members of the tour on
the left, and Agricultural Agents Greg Burg and Snodie
Wilson at the Andrew Neatnicy farm during the irrigation
demonstration.
i