PROGRESS SENTINEL
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VOL. XXXXVU NO. IS USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 16 PAGES THIS WEEK APRIL 12, 1984 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Local Correctional Units Assist With Clean-up In Tornado Destruction Areas
Parents Want Son In School
9 KENANSVILLE ? The parents
of a student who was expelled from
junior high school are asking the
Duplin County Superior Court to
order the board of education to al
low the student to return to school.
The student was accused of bring
ing a weapon to the school and of
telling another student he planned
to sjioot a teacher.
A superior court hearing has
been scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednes
w day.
The petition on behalf of William
Douglas Edge, 14, asks the court to
order the school system to allow the
student to make up all work he has
missed, provide necessary tutorial
and other assistance and to allow
the seventh-grader to be promoted
to the next grade, all at no cost to
the student.
His father, William Owen Edge
and stepmother, Annette S. Edge
contend the student was improperly
suspended for 10 days from the sev
enth grade of Charity Middle School
near Rose Hill on Feb. 15 by the
principal, W. H. Gillespie.
The board of education, following
a hearing with the parents and at
torney : March 6, expelled the stu
dent for the remainder of the school
year.
In its expulsion order, the board
reported the student brought a fire
arm stock and 11 shells to the school
in violation of policy. The order also
stated that the youth had been sus
pended for three days in May 1983
for bringing a can of beer onto the
school playgrounds and had been
placed in the "in school suspension"
program twice in November 106??
The board's order also states that
Gillespie, "was advised by several
students that William Douglas
Edge was to have purportedly stat
ed 'I'm going to shoot Mrs. Moore (a
teacher) for what she called me.'"
The Edges contend in their peti
tion that the board of education has
not established policies and proce
dures governing suspension or ex
pulsion of students as required by
state law.
They further contend that evi
dence does not support the board's
finding that William Edge had stat
f ed that he intended to shoot anyone
because no student testified to that
statement during the hearing.
Supt. L.S. Guy said Friday the
Duplin school system has a written
policy concerning suspension or ex
pulsion of students. He believes it
covers the Edge expulsion.
Duplin School Budget Offered
? KENANSVILLE ? The Duplin
County Board of Education received
a proposed 1984-85 budget from the
administrative staff Tuesday that
calls for $3,314,950 from the county
t general fund.
The school board is scheduled to
present its proposed budget to the
county commissioners April 16.
The proposed budget would in
crease county general fund requests
from all departments to
A $11,233,880 ? $993,175 more than
^ *ve $10,240,706 in general fund re
quests presented to the county com
missioners Monday by County Man
ager Ralph Cottle.
The school board failed to include
its 1984-85 budget request in the
"wish list" from county depart
ments that was presented to the
commissioners. Cottle included an
estimated school budget including
$2,321,775 for current expenses ?
the amount requested by the school
board last year. He had allowed
nothing for capital outlay.
Cottle's estimate was $993,175
short of the actual budget proposal
presented to the school board Tues
day night.
Cottle said if the budget requests
he presented Monday night were
approved, a tax rate of more than 96
cents per $100 assessed valuation
would be required. The present
county tax rate is 75 cents.
If the initial school request is ap
proved, along with the entire bud
get request from other departments,
the additional $993,175 would re
quire a further tax rate increase of
more than 15 cents to bring the rate
up to almost $1.12.
The proposed school budget in
cludes $2,709,400 from the county
general fund for current expenses
and $605,550 for capital outlay. The
schools' proposed current expense
budget also includes $150,000 in
fines and forfeitures, $125,000 from
earned interest, $123,464 in miscel
laneous earnings and a fund bal
ance of $200,000 for a total current
expense outlay of $3,207,864.
The proposed capital outlay bud
get for the schools includes $5,000
in interest and $25,000 in fund bal
ances in addition to the $605,550
.from the general fund.
Superintendent L.S. Guy first re
fused to allow a Morning Star corre
spondent to see a copy of the budget,
but acceded to protests of board
members to provide the reporter a
copy to use while the budget was
jnder discussion. He refused to al
low the reporter to have a copy of
the proposed budget for detailed
study.
"I'm afraid that news stories and
editorials may cause the commis
sioners not to fund part of the re
quest," Guy said.
Prior to the school proposal, Cot
tle estimated the commissioners
would have to cut $1,345,539 from
county department budget requests
to keep the tax rate at 75 cents per
$100 valuation. With the additional
school proposal, the commissioners
would have to cut $2,338,714 frotn
the requests.
The commissioners appropriated
$1,890,586 for current expense and
nothing for capital outlay from the
general ftind for the school system
in the current fiscal year. For the
current fiscal year, the school sys
tem is expected to receive $150,000
from fines and forfeitures, $22,000
from interest, $98,072 from miscel
laneous sources and $285,459 from
carry-over fund balances, for a total
from local funds of $2,446,117.
Red Tape Snares
Tornado Victims
The federal government is running
true to form in administering dis
aster relief programs in Faison and
Mount Olive.
Forms are what officials in the five
disaster relief centers are giving
people who need help to rebuild.
This storm-ravaged area has short
ages of housing and building
materials, but not of paper ? five
page information forms and appli
cations. each page with its own
carbon copy.
The message many people are
getting is: "A tornado doesn't make
it any easier to get federal loans or
grants."
No federal regulations have been
waived. The forms are required and
applicants must fit the criteria or
they don't get any money, several
officials at Faison and Mount Olive
said.
Some of the 2,200 homeless people
who need help are being told it will
be 60 days or more before applica
tions can be processed. Officials say
1.494 people had applied for aid by
closing time Thursday.
An undetermined number could
get help sooner. The anticipated
backlog of applications and the nor
mal review process mean many
people won't.
The quick assistance that victims
need has been left in the hands of
relatives, the Red Cross and the
Salvation Army.
The business of cleaning up tbe
wind-ravaged areas is giving many
residents of storm-damaged counties
residents fits, tying them up in red
tape.
People who need temporary hous
ing must fill out a five-page applica
tion before a damage assessment
team can view their property. Filling
out another five pages will put the
applicant's name on the Small Busi
ness Administration list for either
home or business loans.
Most forms take about 20 minutes
to fill out. Some relief workers help
applicants complete the question
naires. Others such as SBA em
ployees will not, citing federal
regulations.
Officials of the SBA and Federal
Emergency Management Agency's
Temporary Housing division would
discuss the paperwork process only
after getting approval from the
directors of the FEMA-run centers.
In Mount Olive, volunteers from
Wayne County Services on Aging
helped elderly people deal with the
forms and federal interviewers.
Doug Dexter, a Wayne County
Department of Mental Health worker
at the Mount Olive relief center, said
more people were showing signs of
anxiety over the tornado damage
Wednesday, partly because of the
lengthy interviews to get help.
"They had the tornado damage;
then there's the trauma of telling the
story over and over to all these
people. It's the trauma of dealing
with the loss." he said. "The people
I've seen traumatized worst are the
old folks."
Dexter said 13 people were ad
vised Tuesday and Wednesday to get
counseling from the Wayne County
Mental Health Department.
The Rev. David B. Jenkins, pastor
of First Presbyterian Church in
Goldsboro, said, "It was so trau
matic an experience for so many of
these people to come in and attempt
to list all their losses that we've had
a number of church people volunteer
to come and read the questions to the
people."
"A lot of the people couldn't
understand the questionnaires be
cause they were so technical."
Jenkins said.
"1 don't see how they've held up
so well," said Nancy Collier, income
maintenance representative for the
N.C. Department of Health and
Human Resources. She worked in
the Faison center taking applications
for the Individual and Family Grants
division of FEMA.
The Whiteville resident said tell
ing about the damage again and
again seemed to tell on many
tornado victims, particularly the
elderly.
Some took the federal forms in
stride.
If federal help is not forthcoming,
"we'll find private ways to do it,"
said Chester Hinson of the Faison
area.
"We'll have temporary housing by
the weekend." the foreman for N.N.
Fllis Produce Co. of Faison said.
Hinson and his wife will be living in a
migrant farm worker home owned by
his employer.
Sharon Padgett, who lives outside
Faison, was told Tuesday she could
not get a loan from the Small
Business Administration, but it
would be six weeks before her formal
denial would come through. That
. ould delay f ^r application for
money from the Individual and
Family Grant section of the Federal
Emergency Management Adminis
tration.
"Thev made it look like it's easy to
get money because of the disaster,"
she said. "It's not easy.
"I had a house paid for, I was
working, I don't get child support,
food stamps, nothing. Now when I
apply for a loan they deny me."
"They tell me I don't make
enough money to get a loan," Ms.
Padgett said at the relief center at
Faison. "It sounds to me like the
federal government is for people
that's got money."
After a story on her plight ap
peared in newspapers Wednesday,
she was given an immediate denial,
allowing her to apply for the IFG
program.
"We can give them an immediate
denial and refer them to the Indivi
dual and Family Grant people," SBA
disaster loan specialist W.R. Vree
land from Atlanta said.
Kenansville Buvs
Tractor And Car
The Kenansvilie town board
decided last week to buy a Massey
Ferguson tractor for $8,750 from
Kenansvilie Tractor Company of
Kenansville.
The town will pav $6,000 and trade
in an old tractor for $2,750. The new
machine will operate a bush-hog and
a blade.
The board also appropriated
$2,000 to complete payment to the
state for a used State Highway Patrol
car. It appropriated $2,500 for the
1982 Chevrolet during its March
meeting. Sealed bids will be ac
cepted on the town's 1976 model
police car until the board's May
meeting.
Marian Moore and Jimmy Wayne
Stroud were appointed to the
Planning Board.
Also, the board discussed possible
purchase of George Kornegay's law
offices as a town office. The building
contains 1,148 square feet and
stands on a 144-foot by 92-foot lot.
Its assessed valuation is $22,440.
Disaster Information
Hotline
Disaster officials established a
toll-free disaster information hotline
which provides necessary informa
tion for those affected by the recent
tornadoes. Those needing assistance
may call the following number
between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.. seven
days a week: North Carolina only:
1-800-682-2674.
Clothing, food and household,
goods are being distributed by
volunteer relief agencies and volun
teers at the following locations:
In Duplin, at New Duplin Ware
house, Railroad Street, Wallace. In
Lenoir, Union Tobacco on Highway
70 East, Kinston; and in Wayne,
Carver Elementary School at Mount
Olive.
Streater Signs Autographs Aftor Alcohol And Yoo Mooting
Steve Streater, a former University of North Carolina
athlete and spokesman for Students Against Driving
? Drunk organization, was guest speaker at the program
Alcohol and You held April,5 in the Duplin County
Superior Courtroom in Kenansville. The program,
? sponsored by the Duplin County Home Economics
Program Committee, was attended by 200 people,,
Appearing along with Streater were 1st Sgt. W.M.-.
I Autry of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Assistant
: SSf ?
District Attorney Dewey Hudson Jr. of the 4th Judicial
District, Goshen and Plainview Medical Centers of
Duplin. Internist Dr. Kenneth Lee, M.D., Director of
Adult Service Rebecca Judge of Duplin-Sampson Area
Mental health. Human Development Specialist Dr. Leo
Hawkins of North Carolina State University, and
Athletic Director Kenneth Avent of North Duplin High
School.
Beulaville Town
Receives
Certificate From FFA
The East Duplin High School
Future Farmers of America pre
sented the town of Beulaville with a
certificate of appreciation at the
April 2 meeting of the Board of
Commissioners for sjpport in the
park beautification project.
FFA president Henry Cavenaugh
presented the certificate to Mayor
Wilbur Hussey for the town's assis
tance with beautification and clean
up of the Beulaville park. The FFA
students cleaned up and planted
shrubbery and flowers at the town
park.
Mayor Wilbur Hussey informed
the Beulaville Commissioners of the
designation of May 9 as the town's
inspection date for the 1984 Com
munity of Excellence award.
Town Clerk Carol Miller informed
the Board of a proposed $10 raise in
rent for the building housing the
Beulaville Library. According to
Miller the need for additional elec
trical wiring would result in the 110
jump in rent. The wiring job is
estimated to cost Calvin Mercer, who
leases the building, $200. The Beu
laville Library operates three days a
week Monday, Wednesday and
Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. The
Beulaville librarian jvill be salaried
4
by the county library in Kenansville
for 18 months.
Approximately three acres of land
owned by Mayo Lanier has been
located by Commissioner S.A. Bliz
zard Jr. for possible use as a park in
the area of south Beulaville. Funds
to purchase the land would be
provided from local option monies in
the community development grant
awarded through the town of
Beulaville' to the Wickline
Hydraulics.
A back-up generator for the Beu
laville town water system was sug
gested by Commissioner Elvis Sum
ner. The generator would provide a
source of power to operate the
town's water system in case of a
disaster causing lengthy electrical
outages. Sumner is to investigate the
cost of purchasing a generator and
report at the May meeting of the
board.
Beulaville Commissioners unani
mously agreed to assign'at least one
town employee and town vehicle to
help in the clean-up ot the tornado
disaster in Dunlin Coiintv. Also, the
tteuiaville National Guard Armory
has been designated a collection
point for donations of food, clothes
and money to aid tornado victims.