Duplin to hold hearing on sales tax
/ 1
1
A KENANSVILLE ? The Duplin Coun- 1
ty Board of Commissioners plans to hold c
a public hearing to determine the opin- <
ion of county residents on increasing the t
local option sales tax by one-half cent. 1
The beard Monday agreed to study the
question this week and decide at its reg- j
ular meeting Aug. 1 on a date, time and
, place for the hearing.
Before adjourning last week, the N.C. t
, General Assembly authorized counties
to allow counties to levy an additional *
g| one-half cent sales tax on each $1 of t
taxable goods. The money would be used j
! for schools and water and sewer system
improvements.
Board Chairman W.J. Costin estimat- (
ed the added sales tax would bring Dup
. lin about $900,000 a year. t
e
"I'm glad we're finally getting a fair
ihake on this sales tax collection. We've
>een cheated out of a half million dollars
i year by the tax (the present 1 cent local
iption sales tax) going back to where the
ounties where sales were made rather
han to counties on basis of population,"
te said.
The law authorizing the additional
lalf-cent levy provides that it be distrib
ited on basis of population. Rural coun
ies long have objected to the local sales
ax proceeds being distributed to the
?int of origin which they have contend
d unfairly benefitted the populous coun
ies where large shopping centers are '
oca ted.
"If we need it let's put it in," said I
Commissioner D.J. Fussell. I
County Manager Ralph Cottle said i
he county public school system and
James Sprunt Technical College at Ken
ansville could use additional money. The
only other money source for the needed
improvements would be the property
tax, Cottle said.
In other business, the board approved
an $800 request from Tax Collector Nor
man Sandlin in order to have a county
employee trained to search titles to speed
tax collection work.
Sandlin said 373 garnishments for un
paid taxes amounting to $78,588.92 have
been issued since March 14. He said 60
percent of the amount has been collected.
Sandlin expects to collect between 98
and 100 percent of the total.
Cottle reported an federal grant of
$697,900 had been tentatively approved
for the Albertson water district. The
grant was made pending approval in a
referendum of a $314,000 loan.
The county should study whether a
central telephone system would save the
county money, Cottle said.
Kenneth Futreal, county soil conser
vationist, was authorized to use a jobs
bill grant of $1,600 a month from July
through September to hire a secretary
for two days a week and a technician to
work on the Limestone and Muddy
Creek watershed projects in east Duplin
County.
The board voted to renew the Duplin
General Hospital lease for one year for
$1. The present lease doesn't expire until
Oct. 1, but hospital ofTicials needed to
know the hospital's status to make plans
for the next year.
Christine Williams, register of deeds,
reported her office collected $88,344 in
fees during the last fiscal year. The total
was just $4 more than in the preceding
year.
SIDEWALK SALE
FRI. AND SAT.
VISIT US DURING OUR
FANTASTIC DEALS
ON DISCONTINUED ITEMS
SAVINGS e o/
UP TO IO/?
- . ? ' I
Tab
| Mount Olive
t f I 122 N. C?nt?r St.
451-2644
Men Thrown From Car In Accident,
Two Duplin residents were
seriously injured at 5:55 a.m.
Monday when the car in
which they were riding
skidded, overturned and
threw them onto the road,
the State Highway Patrol
? reports.
The one-car accident oc
curred on U.S. #117 about a
?mile south of Rose Hill,
according to the report filed
' by State Trooper R.L. Ham
I mond.
Bradley Kent Sanderson,
? 21, of Route 3, Wallace, and
! Michael Dale Decker, 22, of
Route 2, Wallace, were taken
to Duplin General Hospital,
then transferred to New
Hanover Memorial Hospital
(NHMH). Sanderson was
transferred to Duke Univer
sity Medical Center, where
he was listed in fair condition
as he underwent surgery
Monday night. Decker was
listed in serious condition
Monday at NHMH.
According to Hammond's
report, the car was headed
south on a straight stretch of
U.S. #117 when the 1979
Toyota owned by Sanderson
ran off the right side of the
road, skidded back across the
road, hit a ditch on that side
of the highway and over
turned, throwing the men
from the car.
Hammond estimated the
car was moving at 70 mj,h
when it ran off the road. He
reported that both men were
unconscious when he arrived
and he was uncertain which
man had been driving.
The accident demolished
the auto.
Congressman
Charlie Whitley
'R.efuyiti.
fruMK TVcu/uHyte*
Room 104
Dannon House Office Bldg.
Washington. D C 20615 Tel (202) 225-3416
*
^ Congressional Censure
Being ofricially censured by his colleagues is, without doubt,
' the most humiliating experience a Congressman can undergo.
J The procedure is that a resolution calling for the censure is
? brought to the floor by the Committee on Standards of Official
! Conduct, unofficially called the Ethics Committee.
I The resolution is read by the chairman of that committee
I as well as the specifics of the conduct of the accused member
J which gave ris? to the charges. The member charged must, of
t'j course, sit through the proceedings.
? LiKe any oiner resolution, this one is debatable, and within
^ the time allocated for that purpose, any member is free to ask
? for recognition to comment on the resolution, the action of the
1' Ethics Committee and the alleged conduct of the member
? ! involved.
History of Censure
. I In the entire history of the Congress, only 21 members have
?been censured. Only five of these were in this century, and I
?have had the unpleasant duty of voting on four. In 1979,1 voted
Ito censure Charles Diggs of Michigan, who had been convicted
*in a jury trial for requiring a member of his staff to kick back
jto him for his personal use a substantial portidn of her salary.
? ?In 1980, I cast a similar vote against Representative Charles
P[wilson of California, who had accepted a large sum of money
>from long Sun Park, a Korean national, and then lied about
tit under oath to the committee.
I Last week. Representative Phil Crane, of Illinois, and
?
*
:
Representative Jerry Studds, of Massachusetts, were officially
censured by the House for sexual misconduct with House pages.
In one case it was a heterosexual act with a female page and
in the other a homosexual act with a male page. In both
instances, guilt was freely admitted to the commmittee, and the
members agreed to procedures that protected the identity of the
young people involved. In one case three years had elapsed since
the event took place and in the other ten.
I felt that the action of both men was an extremely serious
breach of the trust placed in House members by parents who
send their teenage children here and, in effect, put them in our
keeping. I voted, together with a large majority, to impose
censure instead of a milder punishment called a reprimand
recommended by the Ethics Commmittee. There were substan
tial legal questions as to whether we could actually expel these
men for offenses committed in past Congresses.
Setting High Standards
It is, I think, a credit to the Ethics Committee and to the
House that nobody attempted to run and hide. We did what
had to be done. It is significant that neither the press nor any
outside agency discovered these violations. They were uncovered
by the committee itself as a result of a very intensive investiga
tion by its own staff. It is also significant that there was no leak
of any kind until the official announcement was made.
I supppose that, unfortunately, we will continue to have
some misconduct by Congressmen. As one member put it
yesterday, "You can't dip clear water from a muddy stream."
The implication was that Congressmen come from a public that
is not perfect.
The important thing is that we set a high standard for the
House and hold our members to it no matter how distasteful
it is to us to impose appropriate punishment when they fail to
measure up.
THADEUS HOWARD
DEEP RUN - Thadeus
Howard, 57, died Monday.
Funeral, Howard & Carter
Funeral Home. Burial. Pine
lawn Memorial Park.
Surviving: wife, Mrs.
Mary Lee Howard; son,
Roger Keith Howard of
Greenville; brothers, Nor
wood Howard of Salisbury,
David Howard of Deep Run;
sisters, Mrs. Helen Smith,
Mrs. Letha Byrd and Mrs.
Thelma Turner, all of Deep
Run, Mrs. Hildred Aldridge
of Kinston, Mrs. Linda C.
Hill of Wilmington.
CHARLIE S. JOHNSON
WALLACE - Charlie
Samuel Johnson, 63, died
Monday. Funeral, Bethel
Wesleyan Church. Burial,
Rockfish Memorial Ceme
terv.
ROSCOE ROBINSON
DEEP RUN - Roscoe
Robinson, 86, died Monday.
Funeral, Woodington Ward
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
MK MK?
j?GUNNE SAX 1
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Duplin Times
t, Kenansville
1 I
f ?Re(k 1
_ It Only 6 Days
Downtown Mount Olive Untll Qur
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I August 4th I
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