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The NEW BERN
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I PUBLISHED WEEKLY
NB Public Library
407 mvt St,
5^ Per Copy
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VOLUME 6
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1963
NUMBER 2
We can’t help but wonder
what passed through the minds
of Craven county’s com
missioners last weekend, when
N. E, (Frosty) Ward--as all
mortals must In due season--
departed from the ranks of the
living.
Others may have thought
more of the discharged assist
ant tax supervisor, but It Is
doubtful that anyone thought of
him more, In the hours fol
lowing his death, than these
selfsame commissioners.
Under hazy circumstances,
unrecorded In the minutes of
the board, they had fired a
capable public servant who
rendered long and valuable ser
vice that extended far beyond
the call of duty.
Where and how the commis
sioners reached their decision
was, according to Ward’s state
ments to us, something he was
never able to determine. It Is
an undeniable fact that their
agreement wasn’t arrived at in
an official meeting where the
public and representatives of
the press could know what was
going on.
Because of this cloak of
secrecy surrounding the
“bum’s rush’’ given Ward, It
isn’t possible to pinpoint the
plain unvarnished truth. If the
limited facts available place
the commissioners in a rather
bad light, they have only them
selves to blame.
Members of the Craven Bar
Association, remarkably united
behind Ward in his efforts to
determine the identity of his
“accuser” and the nature of
any charges made against him,
got conflicting statements and
noncommittal replies when they
asked questions.
Ward told the editor of The
Mirror that he was informed
of his dismissal by the chair
man of the board of commis
sioners. According to Ward,
the chairman told him at the
time of his dismissal that the
commissioners held him in high
regard and that his work had
been satisfactory.
Another county employee In
the tax office who reportedly
complained he couldn’t get along
with Ward denied, said Ward,
that he had made such a com
plaint to the commissioners.
And, we have been told, the
employee assured members of
the Craven Bar Association that
he and Ward were on the fried-
llest of terms.
Hence, Ward went to his death
accused, convicted and punished
with no chance to face his ac
cuser. A hearing, scheduled
alter indignant citizens signed
a petition in Ward’s behalf,
was called off shortly before he
died.
We have been told that the
commissioners had decided, as
the public’s ire mounted, to give
him some sort of new tax job.
Whatever those duties might
have been, and irrespective
of how permanent his employ
ment might have been, he didn’t
live to tackle the job.
No one likes to be fired,
and Ward—a man who had never
spared himself despite a
chronic heart condition—was
crushed by his dismissal after
ten years of outstanding ser
vice to the county. No one
in Ward’s department—now
peopled principally by rookies
rewarded by the new commis
sioners, has even a fraction of
the know how that Ward pos-
(Continued on Page 5)
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HE IS RISEN-^Eiaster*s "glorious message is mirrore^^^^^^t,.the choristers are Jeffry, Melinda, Jules, Lisa,
here in the shining eyes of ^ppy children. Th6 scene and Tommy. Rejoice with them, and with all mankind,
is New Bern’s historic Christ Episcopal church, and as Easter’s dawn reveals the empty tomb.—Photo by
the youngsters are the five sons and daughters of Dr. Wray Studio.
J. J. Barefoot and his wife, Dr. Verna Y. Barefoot. Left
AN APPROVING SMILE—Dr, Lawrence H. Erdman is
understandably proud of his wife’s accomplishments
as a composer. Marian’s “North Carolina Is Home To
Me’’ is being featured this season by the University of
North CaroUna glee club. Another of her compositions
—“North Carolina Song For School Children’’—arrang
ed by Guyte M. Cotton, director of the Craven County
School Band, will be played by the University band at
its concert in NBHS Auditorium on April 24.—Photo
by Wray Studio.