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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXV1II NO. 29 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 JULV 18. 1985 14 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
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Presents Scholarships To NCSU
Murphy Farms Scholarship endowment ceremonies
? were held on the campus of N.C. State University at the
PFaculty Club in Raleigh. (L ro R) Jim Stocker, general
manager of Murphy Farms, Wendell Murphy, Bruce
Poulton, chancellor, and Holmes Murphy are shown
above.
Murphy Farms Offers
Scholarships To NCSU
Murpny farms ot Kose Hill has
provided an endowment to support
^ four S3,000-a-year scholarships at
? North Carolina State University
starting in 1986.
The recipients will be chosen from
students from Eastern North Caro
lina who display some financial need
and who are pursuing undergraduate
degrees in animal science or agricul
tural economics. These criteria met,
the awards will be then presented
hpe<? on academic potential. -The
awards are renewable anlTare worth
Si2,000 for students in a four-year
^ degree program. Recipients are ex
pected to demonstrate strong
academic achievement and extra
curricular involvement similar to the
Caldwell Alumni Scholars.
Wendell Murphy, president and
,-hairman of the board of Murphy
Farms, graduated from NCSU in
1960 and became a vocational agri
:ulture teacher in Duplin County. In
1962, he and his father. Holmes
^ Murphy, started Murphy Farms with
? one employee. The firm now em
ploys nearly 200 people and is the
largest pork producer in North
Carolina. Wendell Murphy is serving
his second term as 10th District state
representative, representing uupun
and Jones counties as a Democrat.
Bruce Poulton, chancellor of N.C.
State University, said, "The Murphy
Farms endowment is one of the
largest endowments ever established
at N.C. State University. This en
dowment will permit North Caro
Una's original land grant university
and its nationally recognized school
of agriculture and life sciences to
make even greater contributions to
agriculture in North Carolina as the
University moves into its second
century of service to the people of
North Carolina."
Contract Approved^
riiwiy " i^11 fr " **? *'.*: 7",*1*
For Duplin County
The state Board of Transportation
has awarded a $2.7 million contract
for construction of an additional 2.3
miles of 1-40 between Benson and
Wilmington.
The contract, which was awarded
to C.M. Lindsay and Sons of Lum
berton, is for grading and drainage
work on the interstate highway from
south of West Road (Secondary Road
1105) to US 117 south of Warsaw in
Duplin County.
The contract also calls for bridges
at Secondaty Road 1113 and Beasley
Mill Road (Secondary Road 1107)
with an interchange set for US 117.
Part of that interchange includes a
bridge over Seaboard System Rail
road's tracks.
Tommy Pollard of Jacksonville,
who represents Duplin County on the
board, said construction could start
by August 12 and be completed in
November, 1987.
Plane Skids Into Pond
? All Occupants Are Safe
A small airplane that developed
engine trouble shortly after noon
Friday went down in a pond between
Magnolia and Rose Hill.
The pilot and two passengers were
not injured, said Hiram Brinson, the
director of emergency services.
Pilot Gregoty R. Frailey of Mid
dletown. Pa., and passengers Mike
Steelman of Pennsylvania and Marie
Clark of New Jersey ? all doctors ?
left New Cumberland. Pa. early
Friday to attend a funeral in Palm
Beach, Fla.
Their single-engine plane lost
power over a Duplin County field
near the 50-acre body of water
known as Johnson's Pond, Brinson
said.
Steelman said the pilot tried to
land in the field, "but we ran out of
runway and ended up in the pond."
The passenger said the pilot had
"vast experience." Asked if the
landing was rough, he said that
"actually, it was a pretty smooth
landing."
The plane came to rest in about six
feet of water, said Bizzell Johnson,
owner of the pond.
An unidentified man who was
fishing in a boat when the plane
went down found the three standing
on the wings and brought them
ashore. Steelman said in a telephone
interview from Johnson's house.
Collapse Of
Roof
Injures Swift
Worker
A combination of heavy rains and
high winds this past week resulted in
one injury in Duplin County when a
section of the roof collapsed at the
Swift & Co. processing plant near
Wallace, according to police.
A 32-year-old man was injured
around 7:30 p.m. Thursday when a
steel beam fell and struck him in the
shoulder, according to a police
spokesman. The victim's name was
not available.
Surgical Practice
1 Opens In
Kenansville
A private Thoracic and vascular
surgery practice has been opened in
Kenansville by Dr. Mobib N. I.
Ghobrial, M.D. *
______
Dr. Mohlb N.I. Ghobrial
"I will be trying to introduce a new
type of medical service In this area."
Dr. Mohib N.I. Ghobrial said. "My
practice will offer vascular work
which involves improving circulation
to the body extremities to avoid the
^ loss of those body parts." In addi
tion, Ghobrial will offer a variety of
general thoracic surgical services.
The practice is located in the South
Wing biding next to Duplin
li
General Hospital in Kenansville.
Ghobrial is currently a member of
the medical staff at Duplin General.
"The doctors at Duplin General
have been nice to me," Ghobrial
said. "And, I am glad to be Dart of
their efforts to upgrade Duplin
General Hospital. The effort has
been team work to get new monitors
and equipment at the hospital so
Duplin General will be able to stand
up and compete with other county
hospitals.
"The joint effort of the doctors and
Duplin General Hospital has been to
bring its citizens back to using the
local facility," Ghobrial said, "and,
that will take time." Currently,
Ghobrial pointed out, surgeons on
the medical staff at Duplin General
Hospital offer all major categories of
surgica! services except cardiac pro
cedures.
Ghobrial is a graduate of Alexan
dria University in Egypt where he
completed medical school. He has
recently completed five years of
surgical residency at New Hanover
Memorial Hospital in Wilmington
and one year of residency at North
Carolina Memorial in Chapel Hill.
Ghobrial's training during residency
at Chapel Hill specialized in surgery,
trauma and intensive care. Currently
GhobHal resides in v' fw.
Warsaw Board Reviews
Police Overtime Pay
Warsaw police officers may have
two options on working hours under
the recent Supreme Court fair labor
ruling on overtime pay, town officials
say.
The town board discussed the
problem at its July meeting last
week.
Town Clerk Alfred Herring said
officers could be limited to working a
maximum of 171 hours in a month for
straight time pay. Under that option,
they would be paid at a rate of l'/i
times their straight pay rate for
additional hours. That would require
the town to hire more police officers,
he said.
The other option. Herring said,
would be to pay the officers an
agreed amount after determining the
average number of hours worked
last year. If the average were 46
hours a week, they would be paid the
amount agreed on for that time.
Additional time would be paid at half
the agreed-on rate.
The board re-appointed Herring as
fiscal officer and tax collector.
Liquid petroleum gas contracts
were awarded to Smith Bros, of
Magnolia for the town garage and
gymnasium on a bid of 63 cents a
gallon. Par Gas of Warsaw received
the contract to serve the firehouse on
a bid of 59.28 cents a gallon. Both
suppliers said their price will fluctu
ate with the market.
Service Oil Co. of Warsaw re
ceived the contract of regular gaso
line on a bid of 99.75 cents a gallon;
for unleaded gasoline at SI.0111 per
gallon; $1,0475 for premium un
leaded; and 77.75 cents a gallon for
kerosene and diesel fuel.
Judy Moore was appointed to the
recreation committee to succeed Pat
Swanda. who resigned.
Wallace Approves Overtime
The Wallace town board this past
week approved payment of back
overtime totaling $2,278.14 to 13
town employees after discussing a
recent U.S. Supreme Court labor
ruling.
The amount included payment for
overtime since April 15.
The police department was di
rected to work out its schedule so no
overtime will be required of the
regular officers. The four dispatch
ers will receive a total of eight hours
a week overtime because the station
must be staffed 24 hours a day seven
days a week.
Police Chief Roscoe Rich said he
following requests from residents.
A question of liability if a child
were injured in a large culvert
behind the house the John Walker
family recently bought from Joe
Bryant Jr. was answered by Richard
Burrows, town attorney. Burrows
said it did not appear that Walker
would be liable.
Walker said: "My wife and I have
pulled 14 kids out of there. They
come through the culvert from
anothei street. I got one the other
day on a bicycle. They play war
there."
He said his property deed de
scribes the property as extending to
the ditch.
could only avoid some overtime pay
for dispatchers by pulling an officer
off the beat to staff the dispatcher's
post part of the time.
Commissioner Charles Blanchard
said the board can't cut costs at the
expense of protecting the town.
The board agreed to increase the
town automobile license fee from $2
to $4 and to use windshield stickers
instead of dated metal tags in the
future. When residents list their
taxes, they will be given notices to
buy their town licenses. Those who
haven't bought licenses by Jan. 1
will be visited by the police.
A street light was authorized for
the corner of Brav and Ivev streets
Sands Suit Is Settled
Claims and counterclaims of Bar
bara and Bobby Brinkley and James
G. Hanes III of Winston-Salem have
been settled. The Brinkleys will
remain sole owners and operators of
Riverside Sand Co. of Wallace,
Bruce Robinson, lawyer for the
Brinkleys, said last week.
Robinson said several suits
evolved out of the dispute. Under
terms of the settlement, he said,
Hanes deeded his interest in the
sand company to the Brinkleys by
turning over to them promissory
notes of $314,780 and $75,558 owed
by the company to Hanes, an heir to
the Hanes Hosiery company in
Winston-Salem.
The company now owes the money
to the Brinkleys, who own the
company.
Mrs. Brinkley originally filed a
$10.1 million suit against Hanes.
claiming she was wrongfully fired
from her job as a bookkeeper with
the sand company. She contended
the Brinkleys signed an agreement
with Hanes for a sand mining
operation in October 1984 and at the
time she contended Hanes told her
she would have a job as long as she
wanted it.,
Hanes responded to the suit by
saying he entered a limited pertner
ship agreement with Brinkley in
June 1980. Hanes filed a cross-action
against Brinkley in March, saying
Brinkley told his wife to take what
the suit called improper actions with
company funds. He alleged, in the
suit, that mis-use of corporate funds
required him to advance $300,000 to
the company.
The sand company, located off
N.C. 41 east of Wallace, is continu
ing in business as Riverside Sand
Co. Inc.
JSTC May Be
Community College
In an unscheduled vote last week,
the House of Representatives
approved legislation to give com
munity college status to James
Sprunt Technical College in Kenans
ville.
Bv a 77-2 margin, the House
approved the James Sprunt bill and
sent it to the Senate for action.
The bill was not included on the
printed calendar fn~ Tuesday's
House session. !? Wendell
Murphy, the sponsor, said the
legislation came to the House floor
after Rep. Billy Watkins of Green
ville asked that the bill nbe brought
back from the appropriations com
mittee. where it was awaiting dis
cussion.
"This was a real important piece
of legislation to Duplin County and
the surrounding area." said
Murphy. "Obviously the time is
running down real close." General
Assembly leaders hoped to adjourn
this past week.
The bill would allow James Sprun'
students to receive college credit for
the work they complete at the
two-year school.
The state Board of Community
Colleges has endorsed the proposal.
However, it could encounter oppo
sition in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Kenneth
Royall of Durham has said he thinks
technical colleges serve a valid
purpose and should remain com
mitted to their primary goal of
providing vocational training.
Hardee's Cuts Ribbon
Hardee's of Kenansville opened July 9. Among those
present for the ribbon cutting were Kenansville Mayor
Don Suttles, Kenansville Area Chamber of Commerce
President Grey Morgan and Duplin Development
Officer Woody Brinson, Wade-Carey Enterprises
Vic^president of Operations Tommy Jackson, and
Kenansville Hardee's Manager Steven Bowen, all
pictured above. The Kenansville Hardee's is one of
eight stores in the Wade-Cary Enterprises chain. The
local Hardee's employs 51 people and will be open 6
a.m. until p.m., seven days a week. Hours may be
cxtdbded during weekend days this summer.
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