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VOL. XXXXVII NO. 12 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 MARCH 24. 1983 20 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Fence Planned
For Agribusiness Fair Area
The Duplin County Agri
business Council has been
granted permission by the
county Board of Education to
build a fence around an area
that includes the former
Kenansville Elementary
School, William Rand Kenan
Memorial Amphitheater and
Kenan Memorial Audito
rium.
The council sponsors the
Duplin County Fair. It plans
to put a 5-foot-high chain link
fence behind the area in
volved and on the north side.
Only a temporary fence
will be allowed on the side
fronting on N.C. 11 and
between the school property
and the county hospital. The
council can erect the tempo
rary fence only during its
county fair week.
Board member Carl Pate
of Beulaville voted against
the fence project last week
sa>ing he believes any long
term project should be
brought before the county
Board of Commissioners.
Voting for it were Riddick
Wilkins, Bill Richards,
Jimmy Strickland and Joe
Swinson.
The council also hopes to
build a livestock arena on the
west side of N.C. 11 north of
the auditorium for use during
the fair and for other events
during the year.
The council purchased
property on the east side of
the highway, and its mem
bers said they would be
willing to move the ball park
there. The ball park now
occupies the proposed live
stock arena site.
In other action:
? The board approved a
resolution opposing a bill in
the N.C. General Assembly
to bar opening of schools
before Labor Day.
? The board approved,
for the third year, a federal
summer migrant enrichment
program at North Duplin
Elementary School. The cost,
to be met by federal funds,
will be $33,510.
The program will open
June 14 and end July 26. An
enrollment of 100 students is
expected. Enrollment last
year totaled 85 students.
The board also approved a
full-time, federally paid mi
grant student program pro
viding supplemental reading
and mathematics for 50 to 75
students in B.F. Grady and
North Duplin elementary
schools for the 1983-84
school year. The cost will be
$55,462.
Warsaw Town Board
Shelves Rezoning Plan
The town Board of Com
missioners of Warsaw has
delayed consideration of a
proposed zoning change until
one of the property owners
involved can be notified of
the plan.
After a public hearing last
week, the commissioners
voted to take up the proposal
at its April 11 meeting.
The property faces Best
Street in the block between 1
Gum Street and Pineerest
Drive on -rh^sauth siaii *>f
, town The prvhrt'-'iy borders
Pines Mobile Home Park on
Gum and Pinecrest.
R.L. West, the owner of
one of two tracts involved,
wanted the property rezoned
to permit mobile homes to be
located on it. The town had
displayed a sign announcing
that the property was being
considered for rezoning. but
the board was not sure the
other propVrty owner in
volved. fteltonjdinshew, had
been informed'of the pro
posal.
^ Town clerk Alfred Herring
. was greeted to notify Min
shew ?fcthc proposal.
In other business, the
board directed Thurman
Caster to clean out blocked
drainage ditchbs around Best
and Gum streets after B.G.
Rich and Ruth Pearsall Rich
told the board that water
stood in their yards because
nearby street paving work
had blocked the drainage
ditches.
The board gave Wade
Carlton the job of tearing
down a dilapidated house on
his bid of $372. The town
bought the property with
$i2.000Trom a Department of'
Housing and Urban Develop
ment rehabilitation grant for
the area. The house was
declared beyond repair.
After demolition of the
building, the property will be
sold. Owners of property
adjacent to the 52-bv-20O
foot lot will be asked if they
want to buy the property. It
is valued at $1.460 on the tax
books. Sale proceeds will be
turned over to HUD.
The board nominated
Mary Ellen Blackburn to the
? Recreation Board to replace.
Robin Lewis, who has
moved.
Renovation Of Beulaville Town Hall
Cra/ 'ed walls and rotting
ceiling. Some Beulaville citi
zens are requesting the old
town hall, a condemned
structure, be renovated. The
old town hall has been empty
since October 1982.
The old town hall was beilt
in 1954. According to
minutes from Beulaville
Town Board meetings. Com
mit-ioner Cecil Miller made
a motion to build a town hall
with space to house the fire
equipment. The motion was
approved with the town
paying for building materials
and requesting free labor
from Beulaville citizens.
Land for the building was
purchased from Addie
Blizzard.
"The county building
examiner has said the build
ing is not worth renovating."
Mayor Wilbur Hussey said.
' "it is made of cinder block
and they have cracked. Th^
top and ceiling will have to
be replaced and the wiring
andj it needs to be insu
lated." According to Hussey.
the town of Beulaville is
financially able to renovate
the building or rebuild, if a
need is established for the
structure. A two-man com
mittee of Beulaville town
commissioners reported
$2.1.640 would be needed to
renovate the old town hall.
Commissioners Elvis Sumner
and S.A. Blizzard recom
mended the old town hall be
torn down and replaced with
a new huildine 24 ft. x 30 ft.
if the need existed for addi
tional space. Suggested uses
for the renovated building
include the town library and
office space for the driver's
license examiner.
"I can't see tearing down
to build a smaller building."
Beulaville Citizens' Renova
tion Committee Chairman
Carl Pate said. "If the new
building yields the same or
more space. I might recom
mend a new structure. But.
with the sentimental value
attached to the old town hall
by the people who helped
build it. 1 don't see tearing
down and replacing it with a
smaller structure." The old
town hall includes about
1.600 square feet. Pate said.
The building is approxi
mately 40 feet by 40 feet.
"The committee is going to
take a look at the town hall
and see what can be done.
We can use the space if we
hud it for a library and toe
drivers license examiner's
office. And. some of the
people who had a hand in
building the old town hall
have said they would hate to
see it torn down."
Carl Pate. Sara Bolin and
Anna Guy are serving on the
committee of Beulaville citi
zens requesting the old town
hall be renovated.
"If the only use will be for
a library." flavor Hussey
said, "then it will take a long
time to get our money back if
the old town hall is reno
vated." The Beulaville
library is located next to the
Lighthouse Christian Book
store on Highway 24. The
library pays $90 rent for the
building it occupies. "If the
people of Beulaville want a
building, then, judging from
the figures turned in by the
commissioners, it would be
better to build a new struc
ture. In terms of dollars and
cents. I don't know if it's
justified to renovate."
Commissioners S.A.
Blizzard and Elvis Sumner
turned in the following reno
vation estimates during the
town board meeting in Feb
ruarv: trusses. $1,440;
sheathing. $500; shingles.
$600: gables and overhang.
$800; fill in doors. $1,000;
ceiling. $1,500; panel wall
and strip. $2,000; insulation.
$600; wiring. $1,500: bath
rooms. $5,500; doors and
windows. $500: paint. $700;
labor. $9,000; for a total of
$25,640.
"Within the next month
we (renovation committee)
hope to come up with reno
vation estimates." Carl Pan
said. "The labor figure
turned in by the Commis
sioners looks high and maybe
the bathrooms might be done
at a lower cost. But it could
be when we get our esti
mates we will find they arc in
line with the figures turned
in by the town commis
sioners."
"It's kind of a landmark."
Sara Bolin. member of the
citizens' renovation com
mittee said. "The old town
hall is one of the older
buildings in town and it has
served as a meeting place for
the Scouts and as a fire
house. It was the first town
hall the town ever built and I
think there is a lot of strong
feeling about the building. "
BEULAVILLE'S FIRST TOWN HALL - Citizens in
Beulaville are requesting the old town hall, vacated in
October of 1982. be renovated for use as a library. A
committee of Beulaville town commissioners Elvis Sumner
and S.A. Blizzard pupared estimates and recommended
the old building not be renovated, but a new structure be
constructed if a need exists for additional space. The old
town hall was constructed in 1954.
Watershed Project Planned
For Maxwell Creek Area
A petition was signed by 132
people calling for the project
Owners of land in the
Maxwell Creek area of south
central Duplin County hope
to organize to reduce flood
and erosion in its watershed.
A committee composed of
Hubert Brown. Wendell
Evans. Jimmy Stroud. J.P.
Smith. Ray Sanderson. J.H.
Rouse. Bobby Brown. Lara
Kenan, H.B. Hawkins.
Oliver Dobson. Joe Brock
and Mike Brown was
appointed last week during a
planning meeting held Wed
nesday at Elder Chapel
Church south of Kenansville.
Hubert Brown was elected
temporary chairman.
A petition signed by 132
people calling for the water
shed project was presented
to the Soil Conservation Ser
v icc.
Maxwell Creek originates
in Ritters Pond, an old mill
pond near Johnson Church,
three miles southeast of
Warsaw. It takes a mean
dering southeast course of
about 25 miles to empty into
the Northeast Cape Fear
Rliver about four miles north
of Chinquapin and three
miles south of Itallsville. a
straight-line distance of
about 14 miles.
Duplin County soil con
servationist Kenneth Futreal
estimated the main stream
and its tributaries create
about 50 miles of w aterway.
Futreal said the watershed
covers 48,370 acres, with
33.357 acres of forest and
15.013 in crops.
Landowners such as San
derson of Rose Hill claim the
creek and its tributaries
overflow onto their woods
and cropland, killing trees
and crops as well as eroding
soil. The channels of the
creek and its branches are
clogged with silt and debris
from two centuries of farm
and forest operations.
"You need to understand
it would be a local project
with federal assistance, not a
federal project," said John
Garrett of the state Soil
Conservation Service staff in
Raleigh.
Under a law authorizing
federal participation in small
watershed projects, the U.S.
government finances 100
percent of the cost of flood
control in such -projects and
up to 50 percent of the cost of
drainage and erosion control
work. Garrett said.
Futreal told the group.
"We're here to find out what
you want. We'll help you
with your application, but
you will have to put the
application together."
He said the application
must show the value of
benefits from the project to
be greater than the project's
cost before it can be con
sidered by the Soil Conser
vation Service.
He also warned the land
owners that they would have
to donate all easements
needed for the project. Land
treatment measures would
also be required to reduce
the amount of runoff and silt
coming into the channels.
Futreal emphasized that
nothing can happen over
night. "We have 12 years of
time invested in the Lime
stone Creek project, and the
channel work is just begin
ning," he said.
The Limestone Creek
watershed project is in
southcatern Duplin County.
Violence Wracks Church Near Wallace
After two fires and several
gunshots at its newly reno
vated church, the Way of
Truth Free Will Gospel con
gregation is meeting where it
was organized, ? in the
home of Elder Carlton West
and his wife. Pearl.
Duplin County Sheriff T.
Elwood Revelle said he sus
pects arson in the fires, the
last of which destroyed the
church Feb. 22. No arrests
have been made in connec
tion with either fire or the
shots, although Revelle said
his department has intensi
fied its investigation and
surveillance of the area south
of Wallace on N.C. 11 where
the church was located.
Church windows were shot
out at other times. Security
lights op the church grounds
were shot out with pellets the
night of the fire, Revelle
said. West said a shot went
over his head on another
night.
Curtis West said someone
killed a dog and left its
bloody carcass in a portable
toilet used while the reno
vation work was in progress.
Services were held Sunday
in the pastor's home. Elder
West and Curtiss Wjest, who
is a member of the congre
gation but no relation to its
leader, said the church will
be rebuilt, despite the small
size of its congregation and
the "harassment to which we
have been subjected."
Both Wests said sheriff's
officers had told them the
congregation appears to have
built their church in the
wrcyig place, on River Road
(State Road 1941.)
"That's where the Lord
wants us to put the church
and that's where we're going
to put it again." Elder West
said.
Curtis West added. "I'm
not ready to die. but if I have
to give up mv life for the Lord
I'll do it."
Elder West, his wife and
their five children moved to
Duplin County from Wash
ington to start the church
about two years ago.
Services were held in their
home until an old frame
church building .tear Halls
ville could be moved. The
congregation renovated the
old structure and held its
first service there Feb 20.
Two days later, it burned to
the ground.
Revelle estimated the pro
perty loss at $25,000.
Curtis West said residents
of the area are frightened.
Revelle said he has talked to
many residents who don't
want it known that they
talked with officers.
They said the harassment
began soon after the con
l
gregation bought the land
and moved the church build
ing. The first fire was quickly
extinguished by the Wallace
Volunteer Fire Department.
They said 30 firefighters
tried to save the building the
second time fire broke out,
but were unsuccessful.
Revelle said kerosene could
be smelled around the
burned structure.
Elder West worked as a
museum technician in the
National Gallery of Art in
Washington. Mrs. West was
a legal secretary with the
U.S. Department of Justice.
He said he felt "called" to
quit his job to establish his
church in Wallace.
Asked about his use of the
term "Elder" gather than
"Reverend," he said, "The
word 'Reverend' does not
appear in the Bible, but
'Elder' appears several
times."