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PROGRESS SENTINEL
9 VOL. XXXXVI1NQ.29 USPS 162-860 , KENANSVILLE. N.C. 28349 JULY21.1983 20 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CEN IS PLUS I AX
Warsaw Board To
? Probe Firm Records
While reducing the sum
retained by the town in
settling with its sewage
treatment plant contractor,
the Warsaw Town Board
plans to check company
records and engineers' daily
? logs to determine whether
damages should be assessed
against the company for fail
ing to meet the contract
deadline.
Last week on Monday, the
Town Board reduced the
amount retained trom pay
ments to Miller Building Co.
of Wilmington from $101,000
to $60,000. The company
built the $2 million sewage
? treatment plant southeast of
Warsaw. The contract called
for completion by Nov. 22,
1982. The project was com
pleted in February, 70 days
late.
Miller representatives
Jack Kuske and Jim Ballen
tine blamed unusually wet
winter weather for the delay.
The contract provides for a
penalty of up to $350 a day
for late completion of the
? project.
The board maintained it
holds part of the retainer to
meet possible costs
stemming from a lawsuit in
which the town and Miller
Building Co. are being sued
by United Pipe Co. for
S15,000. United claims it is
owed that amount for pipe
sold to the building firm for
the project.
The Miller company con
tends the pipe was delivered
late and this contributed to
construction delays. It claims
it is unable to settle with the
pipe company until it learns
how much it will be penalized
for the late completion of the
project.
During a severe thunder
storm recently, lightning
struck the new plant twice,
causing $2,850 in damages,
town clerk Alfred Herring
told the board.
A group of town residents
questioned an increase in
their water and sewer bills.
Thomas Hodges acted as
their spokesman.
Herring explained that
starting with the July billings
the charge for sewage was
increased from 50 percent of
the water charge to 90 per
cent. The new minimum bill
of SI6.30 a month includes S7
for up to 4,000 gallons of
water, S6.30 for sewage and
S3 for garbage pick-up. The
former minimum bill was
$13.50, with the sewage
charge $3.50 instead of
$6.30.
Hodges also contended the
town wasting money in
labor ?.<- s.
He claimed he saw two
people working on meter
reading although one could
have done the job, saying
one person read the meter
numbers to another, who
wrote them down. He also
told the board he watched
one town worker spraying
weed killer on weeds in side
walk cracks while another
stood beside him.
"And I have to pay for this
? me, and other taxpayers,"
he exclaimed.
Eleanor Hodges urged the
board to improve drainage
near Hill Street, where she
lives. She claimed a ditch
beside her property should
be cleaned out so it could
carry excess runoff water to
Stewart Creek on the south
edge of town.
She said county officials
told her to talk to town
officials and town officials
told her to talk to county
officials. She was told a
Duplin County dragline
would be working on drain
age in Warsaw this week.
Magnolia Meters
? To Be Read Monthly
All water meters in Mag
nolia will be read once a
month and water-sewer bills
will be mailed monthly, the
Town Board decided last
week.
The board issued its order
to the water and sewer
9 department after learning as
many as 40 water meters
have not been read regularly.
The town charges a mini
mum of S6 a month for up to
3,000 gallons of water and $1
per 1.000 gallons above that
figure. The sewage rate is
based on the amount of water
metered and is charged at
the same rate ? $6 on the
first 3,000 gallons of water
^ and SI for each additional
1.000 gallons.
The residential trash
pick-up rate is SS per month.
The minimum bill for all
three utility services is $17 a
month.
Meters will be read on the
20th of each month and bills
mailed on the 25th. Bills will
become overdue on the fifth
of the following month when
a $2 late penalty will be
charged. If a meter is turned
off, a $5 reconnection fee will
be charged. The town re
quires a $50 deposit on water
connections.
Garbage is collected on
Tuesdays and Fridays. Busi
nesses pay $6.50 a month for
trash pick-up.
Residents can arrange
with the town to have private
lots mowed for $10 an hour.
The town will haul extra
trash for a fee of S10 per
truckload.
The board reported the
town has $125,145.83 of
general fund money and
$34,698.47 of water and
sewer fund money drawing
interest in certificates of
deposit.
The town also has $7,000
in its general fund checking
account and $15,842.56 in a
water and sewer department
savings account.
Work on the 1982-83 fiscal
year audit was to be started
this week by Doug Clark, a
Kenansville accountant.
Tennis Courts Near
Completion In Kenansville
By Emily KlUette
Not many outdoor sports
can be played after dark.
Kenansville's park has a
lighted Softball field and will
soon open a lighted tennis
court.
Workers from Hanover
Company in Wilmington be
gan the final phases of
construction last Thursday,
Doug Judge of the Kenans
^ ville tennis court committee
said. After about a year's
delay, workers estimated the
Kenansville tennis courts
would be in use within a
week. Lighting the tennis
courts will be done by Julus
Jones of Kenansville. The
lighting system will be run
by a toll meter.
Contracts for the $30,000
project were awarded in the
fall of 1981, Judge said. The
A tennis court foundation was
? laid the following summer
and the fence installed in the
fall. According to Judge, two
flaws were left in the courts,
A water pocket and a low
spot were left in the courts,
and Judge said, even though
both flaws were outside the
[Haying area they were po
tential hazards to both the
players and a tennis game.
^ "At the time contracts
? were awarded there was no
deadline because we were
trying to make our money go
i
further," Dour Judge, with
the Kenansville tennis court
committee said. "That is
where we got into problems,
trying to work with a limited
budget and not setting dead
lines and not sticking with
original specifications." Ac
cording to Judge, the use of
deadlines in specifications
for the project would have
resulted in higher bids and
modifications were made to
construct the courts with a
minimum of maintenance
from the town..?
The contract for fencing,
the court and nets was
awarded to Central Builders
in Rocky Mount and sub
contracted to Hanover Com
pany in Wilmington. The
total contract with Hanover
Company was approximately
?z*4,uoo. ine remaining
$6,000 was awarded to Julus
Jones to install light fixtures.
"Hanover Company want
ed to complete the project
last December, but according
to specifications no work to
the tennis court foundation
could be done in less than
50? temperatures." Judge
said. '* 1 his week the com
pany plans to fix the area
which holds water by re
moving six feet of the side
curbing and build up the low
area in the foundation. After
the two areas are fixed, the
surface will be sealed and
lined and nets installed."
Extensions for the $30,000
in grants were given to the
town of Kenansville to com
plete the tennis court project
through December of 1983,
Judge added.
Supervisor Resigns
Post At- Kenonsville
The Kenansville Town
Board will advertise imme
diately for a maintenance
supervisor to succeed Dan
Ricker, who resigned.
Ricker told the board last
week he has taken a job with
the Georgia-Pacific Co. plant
in Dudley. His resignation
will be effective July 22.
The maintenance position
was paying $14,456 a year.
Ricker, who lives in Mount
Olive, held the post for about
a year.
Also at last week's meet
ing, Gail Bailey, a vice
president of Universion
Cable Television Co. of Rich
lands, told the board that the
firm has completed its cable
TV line system in Kenans
\ille and is hooking up
customers.
- 111 i '" t; ?.
TOBACCO CROPPING TIME AGAIN - This tractor and harvester were
moving through the tobacco fields near Warsaw last week on the Godbold
Farm. The riding harvester replaced the mechanical cropper for the
Godbolds this year. The Godbolds believe they can maintain grades and
rmes: V* r^i
quality better with the hand-tabor selection, or croppi: ^. and this better
quality will offset the added labor cost. They tend 147 a. res of tobacco and
use 15 bulk barns for curing. Three of these manual cropping harvesters
will work their tobacco fields.
Growers Say They'll Help
Watson Seafood & Poultry
Despite an indication last
Thursday that growers are
wiHing to put up $225,000'7o
$240,000 to revive the bank
rupt Watson Seafood &
Poultry Co., the Rose Hill
firm's future remains un
certain.
The figure represents
about half the $500,000 com
mitment needed from
growers, said Raymond Ma
ready of Beulaville, co-chair
man of the meeting of about
100 people on a steamy night
at Chinquapin Elementary
School. Maready has been
trying to , ut together a
financial [ -ckage with the
aim of taking over the com
pany's operations.
He told the group he has
commitments of about $1
million from a group of "out
side" investors if a stock
company can be organized
w ithin regulations of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange
Commission and require
ments of the federal bank
ruptcy court.
A total of $1.6 million will
be needed immediately and
l
about $2.5 million during the
coming year to renew the
production program, he said.
The firm's broiler growers,
whose chicken houses have
been empty since late June,
have been attempting to
organize a new company out
of the assets of the old one so
they can continue growing
chickens.
"I'm disappointed," Ma
ready said following the
meeting.
On the other hand, Ebern
Watson of Rose Hill, the
other co-chairman of the
meeting, said he was pleased
with the showing. Watson is
president of the bankrupt
firm and has been trying to
reorganize under the federal
bankruptcy court since April.
If plans fail to gel by
Tuesday, arrangements for
sale of the Watson flock of
breeder hens will be made
immediately. Roy Houston,
president of Coastal Produc
tion Credit Association of
Kenansville. made that an
nouncement Friday after
discussions with Watson and
Maready.
Coastal PCA is the major
creditor of the firm. It has
been feeding the breeder
flock at a cost of from $17.000
to $24,000 a week since
April. If a production pro
gram can be revived, the
breeder flock will be needed
to lay eggs for the hatchery,
which will supply chicks to
growers.
Watson and Maready both
warned growers that even if
the production program can
be revived, it could fail and
all money invested in it could
be lost.
One of the requirements
for bringing the package
together will be investment
of about $500,000 by the
growers and a commitment
from them t? pr<t -ce
260.OH) broilers. v < rhe
company's approximately
100 growers produced
between 250,000 and 280,000
broilers a week before the
closeout of the broiler feed
ing program by order of the
court.
Another requirement will
be investment by the Watson
family. Watson said the
family is willing and able to
invest $300,000 to $350,000
in such a company.
The project will require a
loan of about $1.5 million,
Maready said.
Ray Johnson of North
Carolina National Bank in
Wallace said the bank is
interested in reviewing the
project for a possible loan "if
the packages goes together
...We'd like to help if we
can."
About $1.6 million will be
needed immediately to pay
off some of the secured
creditors of the Watson firm
and start anew. Watson said.
The Watson company
owes about $5 $ million.
Following the Thursday
night meeting. 41 chicken
growers responded to the
request to show their interest
by giving their names, ad
dresses and the amount of
money they might be willing
to invest in a new stock
company as they departed.
The amount listed was be
tween $225,000 and
$240,000. Mareadv said.
Country Squire To
Get New Manager
R.A. "Rudy" Jarrell re
signed last week as Kure
Beach police chief to take a
job managing the Country
Squire restaurant and
Vintage Inn motel near
Kenansville. Jarrell's resig
nation is effective July 22.
"It was undoubtedly the
most difficult career decision
I have ever had to make."
said Jarrell. who has been ?
chief since June 1979. The
challenge and increased '
salary offered by the new job i
w as "simply too good to turn '
down." he said. 1
Although Jarrell said his j
"chief love" is law enforce- <
ment. he has had extensive
experience in food services in
a business he managed and
while working with the Wil
mington Hilton Inn and
Tuesday's restaurant. He
has worked in law enforce
ment with the Wrightsville
Beach Police Department
and the New Hanover County
Sheriff's Department.
Jarrell's resignation has
not been officially accepted
by the town board. A board
meeting may be held this
week to begin seeking a chief
to head the five-man de
partment. Jarrell was pMI
in annual salary of 513,000.
Kornegay Attorneys Want
Warrants Voided
According to a recent story
in the Raleigh News &
Observer, attorneys for
George R. Kornegay Jr.,
former president-elect of the
N.C. State Bar. have asked
Wayne Superior Court to
strike down search warrants
used last fall to obtain evi
dence in charges against
Kornegay.
A Wayne County grand
jury has charged Kornegay
with 35 counts of embezzle
ment and corporate malfea
sance involving about
$225,000. He was indicted
after three former law part
ners filed complaints.
&
neroert nuise, an attorney
for Kornegay, filed court
papers recently saying that
search warrants used by the
State Bureau of Investigation
to obtain Kornegay's records
did not specify places or
people to be searched or
things being sought.
When the investigation be
gan last fall. Kornegay re
signed as president-elect of
the bar, the agency whose
primary function is the li
censing and discipline of
attorneys.
Kornegay's lawyers have
said they would announce"
their client's pleas to the
rhsrees A'loiist 1
?
Duplin General
Is Curing Fiscal Woes
An increase in the number
of patients and infusion of
county funds has improved
Duplin General Hospital's
financial position, adminis
trator Richard Harrell said
last week at the organiza
tional meeting of the new
board of trustees.
Harrell also reported a
sharp reduction in unpaid
accounts in the past few
months.
The hospital had been in
such financial straits that the
county Board of Commis
sioners authorized an ac
counting firm. Price Water
house of Atlanta and
Raleigh, to make a thorough
study followed by recom
mendations for improvement
last winter.
One of the fir?;t rpnim
mendations put into effect
was reduction of the hospital
board from 28 to nine mem
bers. The new board held its
first meeting Thursday and
elected as chairman Ray
Sanderson of Rose Hill, who
had been chairman of the
former board.
Also elected were William
Fennell of Wallace as trea
surer and Elbert Davis of
Albcrtson as vice chairman.
Harrell was reappointed sec
retary. Wade Carlton of
Warsaw was appointed to the
quality assurance committee.
The board voted to meet at
7 p.m. on the second and
fourth Thursdays of each
month while the hospital
implements recommenda
tions of the Price Water
house study. In the past it
had met once a month. It will
hold a special meeting at
7:.10 p.m. Thursday to study
the report, which was pre
sented last month.
County Commissioners
Chairman W.J. Costin of
Warsaw said the hospital
needs to follow- recommen
dations of the study and it
needs to hire a finance
officer.
Costin said the County
appropriates $75,000 a year
to the hospital, pays the
hospital construction bonds
and pays $400,000 a year for
Medicaid, much of which
goes to the hospital.
Commissioners Dovey
Penney of Wallace and Allen
Nethercutt of Chinquapin
also attended the meeting.
Harrell reported the hos
pital's "accounts payable."
which are bills the hospital
owes to suppliers, decreased
by $81,551 during June.
Since Dec. 30, he said,
accounts payable have been
steadily reduced. One study
recommendation was to re
duce accounts payable to the
point the hospital could take
advantage of early payment
discounts and avoid late pay
ment penalties. A Duplin
County appropriation of
S*>5.000 contributed to the
reduction in accounts pay
able.
Cash receipts of $567,382
for June were the most this
year. Harreli said. During
the last seven months, cash
receipts have averaged
$463.7-48 and last year aver
aged $307,553 for the same
period.
In June, the hospital
showed net income of
$7,333.32 due to an extra
Medicare payment and the
county payment. Net income
for the current hospital fiscal
year beginning in October
totaled $175,335.05. in
cluding non-operating reve
nue of $149,820, Harreli
said.
The board renewed the
lease for space to the Duplin
Sampson Mental Health
Department for $37,010 for a
year, but emphasized the
unit must move from the top
floor of the hospital's newest
wing.
Commissioners
Meeting
Date Changed
tion ot bounties convention
which opened Monday in
Milwaukee.
Attending are Commis
sioners Dovie Penney and
Calvin Coolidge Turner.
The third-Monday meeting
of the Duplin County Board
of Commissioners has been
postponed until 9 a.m. July
25 to enable members to
attend the National Associa