★ ★ * Wliat Roanoke Rapide Makes —Makes Roanoke Rapids ★ ★ ★ THE ROANOKE Growing With Carolina's Fattest Growing City * * * Herald Classified Advertising Gets Quick Results ★ ★ * ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C„ TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 1948 NUMBER 35 Ro a η ο k e s Ramblings Receives Degree Ruth Norman Ekstrom (Mrs. Karl E.) of Weldon received tne degree of Bachelor ·it" ocience in Public Health Nurs-n»; f'oin ihe Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Cnio, at Commencement exercises, held June 16. Degrees were awarded to 1100 students. Mrs. Ekstrom 's the daughter of Mr. ana Mrs William Norman of Weldon. wgt. Mahaffey Tokyo, Japan, June /—Corpor-1 al John T. Mahaffey, son ot Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Manaifey, 925 j Franklin Street, Roanoke | Rapids, has been promoted to ι the rank of Sergeant with· tne j United States Air Force in Jap an. Sgt. Mahaffey is assigned to | the Airways and Air Ommuni cations Service. Prior to entering the service in 1946 Mahaffey was a etudent at Roamke Rap ids High School. Why noi? Why Not organize a Little Theatre group in Roanoke Rap ids- We've heard that there's a lot of good ham that's just wait ing to be cured. Besides furnish ing entertainment for this area, j who knows what Barrymore or ed? The project could be a very good one for some civic organi zation. Think of the money that could be raised periodically for worthwhile causes. Merchants Directors to Meet The Board of Directors of the Roanoke Rapids Merchants As sociation will hold its regular monthly meeting in the office of the Association Thursday morn ing, June 24. Shuford, Kiwanis Speaker Forrest Shuford, N. C., Com mission of Labor, will speak to ' the Kiwanis Club its regular ι meeting July 1st. New Stop Lights The city has installed stop ; lights this past week at the fol lowing intersections: Jackson , and Fifth Street, Jackson and j Tenth Street, Hamilton and Sev- · enth Street, Hamilton and Ninth ! Street and Hamilton and Tenth Streets. Named Notary Mattie Lee Taylor, Halifax, was appointed a notary public ; by Governor Cherry last Thurs- j day. ' Local Sc«5\·**: Go To Fioricta For National Meet Six members of Sea Scout ! Ship 208 of Roanoke Rapids will leave Saturday to attend the National Sea Scout Rendezvous in Jacksonville, Fla., lasting one week. Members who will attend are Skipper Fred Cooper, Dwight Elting, Bob Murray, Noah Sad ler, Donald Taylor, and Billy Murray. While at the rendezvous, the local scouts will stay at the Jacksonville ÎTaval Air Station and will be treated to an ocean ι cruise on a navy destroyer. They j will also be given flights in naval planes. Big social climax of the meet ing will be a dance. Dates will be secured for the Scouts for the affair. License Probe Report Is Given Attorney General An investigation report on an alleged driver's license racket was turned over to the office of the state Attorney General Thursday by officials of the State Department of Motor Ve hicles. Contents of the report, sub mitted by Highway Patrol Sgt. ! A. W. Welch; were not made j public, but some two weeks ago, Welch said that a man named Ervin Weeks of Scotland Neck, a license examiner, and Ed mundson Branch, a Negro taxi driver of Ahoskie, were under investigation. In Roanoke Rapids, Irwin R. Weeks of Scotland Neck told the Herald following publication of the details of the investiga tion that he had no other com ment to make except that he was not guilty of any irregulari ties. Weeks had been a license examiner for Roanoke Rapids and vicinity for several months, but resigned on May 24th., Sergeant Welch spent an hour in conference with Assistant Di rector S. L. Gay nor, Jr., of the Highway Safety Division Thurs day afternoon but declined to comment on the case. Gaynor said the report was e being turned over to the Attor- d ney-General's office to deter- * mine whether charges should be v brought in the case. n 1: Welch specified that the al- t: leged racket consisted of the is- li ?uance of drivers' licenses to h *>plicants previously rejected." t: COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VOTE 25 CENT TAX INCREASE Miss Leathers Named New Executive Secretary Of Roanoke Rapids Red Cross Miss Betty Leathers was el - j ected Executive Secretary of the j local chapter of the America η Red Cross at a Board of Dir - ectoVs meeting last Thursday She will succeed Mrs. Frank B. Neal, present secretary of t h e chapter, whose resignation be comes effective August 1. Miss Leathers, who has held1 the position of Church Secretary of the First Baptist Church for the past year, is a graduate of Winthrop College, Rich Hill, S. j C. While in college she was j circulation manager of the col lege newspaper, secretary of the j Senior Class, a member of the j JfWCA cabinet, on the Baptist J Student Union Executive Cou η- ; cil and a member of the stu- j dent senate. Miss Leathers, who majored in sociology, worked at a camp for underprivileged ch.il dern in New York state during a recent summer. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Will iam Heney Leathers of this city. Four new members of the board of directors of the Ro a - noke Rapids chapter of the Am erican Red Cross took office at the Thursday meeting. Th e y ,,,η,.η· rwlt. 1-ΐ^^.τ··^ Patterson Mills; George Wilkers, representing the downtown busi ness section; Ken Johnson of ra iio station WCBT and W. A. ;Bill) McClung of the Herald. Three more directors at large j will be named with the week j to represent the Rosemary bisi ness section, the Roanoke Rap ids Hospital and the VFW. Warrenton High School Principal Resigns Position Warrenton — Paul )V. Çoooer pr; icipal ο « jhn Graham Hig? , School of T.u.rrenton for the) past 13 years, has resigned to ac cept a position as principal of Cary High School of Wake Coun ty He, Mrs. Cooper and their two sons, Paul and David, will leave Warrenton for Cary July 15. Cooper came to this county :rom Enoree, S. C., in 1928 as orincipal of the Afton-Alberon School. In 1933 he became prin cipal of the Littleton High School ind remained there until he ac cepted the position as principal )f the local school in 1935. While there Mr. and Mrs. hooper have been active in civic ind church work and both have ieen narticularv intprpstprl in Scouting. Cooper has also been ictive in the Lions Club, having îeld several offices. 13,000 State Drivers Lose Auto Licenses Raleigh,—In North Carolina, 3,062 motorists lost their right ο drive last year because of raffic law offenses and prac-* ices detrimental to safety, the dotor Vehicle Department an· lounced today. This was an increase of over ,000 from the 1946 total of 8, 35. Department officials stafed hat the sharp rise in license re ocations and suspensions indi ated a progressive tightening of ontrol measures to curb the angerous driver. North Caro· na's highway patrol was douhJ d last year from 213 to 423, a this meant a double force of atrolmen on the roads to ap rehend drunken and reckless rivers. The revocation and suspension 2port showed that 9,068 of th-î 947 revocations were for drunk η driving. This was around 70 er cent of all revocations and ispensions. Officials noted that ie average of drunken driving : evocations for the nation as a · 'hole was around 40 per cent, 'hile for this State it ran to 70 er cent. 1 The Department pointed out J îat from 70 to 80 per cent of all ighway accidents are caused by 1 ie driver himself—his careless- ι ess and sometimes ignorance of affic rules and regulations. In i ti effort to eurb this human 1 lement as the cause for acci- i Bnts, the last legislature passed t ie Driver Re-Examination Act, i hich requires that all drivers lust be re-examined for a new cense. The Department reports îat of the drivers already re- c censed, around four out of ten r ave failed the test on the initial I y· i Dog Tags On Sale; 400 Sold Here In Past Two Weeks Approximately 400 Roanok e Rapids dog owners, men, wo - men and children, streamed into the city clerk's office during the past two weeks to buy the r e quired 1947-48 license which ex- ; pires June 30. A total of 55 0 tags have been sold during the past year. It is estimated thai the city's dog population is i η the neighborhood of 700. Dog tags for the coming year will go on sale at the city clerks office July 1. The new tags will be effective from July 1, 194 8 to June 30. 1949. Anyone who's been trying to get an idea from some of th e following that appeared on dog tag applications: "l uddle-Duck" (Johnnie J. Bal me*; owner); ,,Butcherboy" (John Lackey); 'Trash" (E. L. Coker) ; 'Smut" (B. G. Gray); "Big Dog" (Thomas Prude η ) ; 'Jiggs" (Dallas Joyner) ; 'Blitz" (J. W. Harrell) ; 'Leap" Beanie Jones) and "Wimpy" (T. J. Al ford). Other "interesting names in clude: "Cinder Lou" (Ν. I. Campbell); 'Debutante" (E. C. Langford); "Button" (W. C. Ly nch); "Cheater" (Cary Massey) ; 'Ring" Λ. R. Johnson); 'Tinker" (F. C. Brown); "Bullie" (I. D . Rainey); 'Boss" (J. C. Leggett "Rip (J. R. Meikle) ; "Black Gal" (Ernest Hux) ; "Little Bit" (J. P. Little); 'Bozo" (Cranflod Hoyle); "Sniffy" (G. L. Tickell 'Sparky" (Η. M. Tickel) ; "Din kie" (W. T. Phelps) and "Ter mite" (J. P. Maurice, Sr.) Rev. C. E. Carroll To Fill Pulpit At Warrenton Church Warrenton—The Rev. C. E. Carroll has accepted a position as assistant minister of the Wes ley Memorial Methodist Church :or the summer. He will conduct :prvir»r>«: in thp ahcon™ nf + ^ev. C. W. Robbins, pastor, who s conducting a revival in Mac >n. The new assistant preached lis first sermon at the morning iervice Sunday. Peddler Arrested Here 3n Larceny Charge James Odom, 25-year-old Jtah shoe peddler, is being held η the Halifax County jail under >300 bond on charges of grand arceny. According to police, )dom entered Rightmyer 's ooming house last Friday night nd took $62.50 belonging to Cenneth Van Kurin, U. S. Ma ine Corp, of Camp LeJeune. learing was waived and the ase was bound over to Superior 'ourt. Exchange Club Hears Rev. Maides The members of the Roanoke tapids Exchnage Club heard the lev. John T. Maides discuss The Kind of Person I Would 'ike to Be", at the club's reg lar meeting last week. The club is planning several ι iteresting meetings for the fu ure and has rented several ] ilms on the work of Boy Scouts ι 3 be shown during those meet- < ags. . Attends Scout Meeting Woodland, .— S. R. Motznom, hairmân of the finance com littee of the Chowan Boy Siout district, attended a Dohrd meet ig in Greenville last week. % Warrenton Group Sets $110,000 Hospital; Name Site Committee VVarrenton—A $110,000 appro - nation was agreed upon for a ospital to be built in Warren on by the local hospital board neeting with Dr. John A. Fer ell, Executive Secretary of the .•forth Carolina Medical Care Jommission, and the County ioard of Commissioners last .light. The sum will make possible a 35-bed hospital, Uu£u Holt, sec retary and treasurer of the Hos pital Board, said today. Local appropriations will amount to one-l'ourth the total cost of the building, with funds available from the State Medical Care Commission, meeting three fourth of the τ ,r, Holt exp.tun ed. Dr. Ferrell, who met with the group to give exact cost of the construction, advised that a committee be appointed at once to select the hospital site. His suggestion was acted upon at once, with Page Perkinson be ing named chairman of the com mittee. Appointed to serve with him were James Hundley and John Wilson. The three will se lect a suitable site and more de finite construction ptans will be made within the next two weeks, Holt stated. The $110.000 local appropria tion was raised by a bond is sue voted in Warren County in March. A 12 cents tax to be us ed in supporting the hospital was also levied at that time. First plans formulated for the hospital called for a 50-bed ac commodation, but Dr. Ferrell, in a letter to Holt, advised that a standard hospital req oreti !?Ί ?■ - 000 a bed, which would make necessary app ropriations amounting to $152.000 as the county's share of the funds. , The local group decided last night that $110.000 was all that the county could afford at this time, and that a ?5-b"d ac:ovi-j dation hospital would be built. In advising the group of desir able qualifictaions for the hos pital site, Dr. Ferrell pointed out ι that the site should be centrally I located and accessible by high- ! way and sidewalks. It should ! consist of from three to six acres, ι preferably not less than five, he | advised. Room for expansion ! should also be considered, he j warned. Other considerations to ! be remembered, he told the group, were nearness to the citv ! water and sewerage facilities. I Before the site is selected, Dr. | Ferrell, said that it would ce1 well for the hospital trustees to ask the Medical Care Commis- j sion and the State Health De- j partment to inspect them before actual purchase of the site is J made. ' I Scotland Neck Negro Found Dead In Home Scotland Neck, (Special)— James H. Smith, 65, Negro, was found dead yesterday noon by some men working on the riçht of-way near Smith's home four miles south of here. The workers reported that they went to Smith's house for some water and saw him lying on the kitchen floor with a shotgun across his legs. Smith, who lived alone on his 25 acre farm, was last seen about Λ o'clock Saturday after noon working on his porcn. Cor oner Rufus Britton, who inves tigated the death, said ihat Smith had been shot in the right eye with a 12 gauge shotgun. The front door of the house wa.i locked, the back door was open Britton said the man died sy a passing pedestrian. Police officer Ward of the Veldon Police department, who vitnessed the \ump gave this ι version. Ward said that he saw Mrs. ; -'erkenson jump from the second itory of the M. F. Fried store milding and land on a woman vho was passing at the time. « The woman who broke Mrs. ' 'erkenson's fall was identified 1 >y Ward as Mrs. George Dumas ' »f Nanjemoy, Md. < Mrs. Dumas was examined by 1 )r. W. G. Suiter, who reported hat she suffered minor injuries ' rnly, which included a bruised 1 ,rm and some shock. - i Mrs. Perkenson, who was 1 :nocked unconscious in her leap rom the building, was taken « ο the Roanoke Rapids Hospital j /here she was examined» Mrs. ] 'erkenson suffered a fractured ] eg and is being held at the hos- ι )ital under observation until the ull exten; of her injuries can be tscertained. Mrs. Dumas, in an interview, aid yesterday morning that she ind a companion, Miss Madeline Cnight of Burlington, N. C., vere walking together six feet . >ehind her husband, George )umas, when she heard Mrs. 'erkenson. scream, "Watch out! am going to kill myself." She said she gave Miss Knight . push and then felt a severe mpact on her left side. The orce of the falling body knock d her down and she just miss d hitting her head on the side- ' iralk. Miss Knight said at the inter iew that Mrs. Dumas' quick , hinking probably saved her rom receiving the full impact of he fall. The trio hid planned to attend lunday's ball game, but the fall nterrupted their plans. They . iave been In this area for the ast few we^ks as street photo < raphers. - _ I Âcfîon Taken Âî Meeting Of Three Members With Davis, ABexastder For The Raise; Dickens Arrives Late Many Cases Heard During Court Terms A long list of alleged law vio lators appeared before two ses sions of the Halifax County Re corders Court last week, one in Roanoke Rapids and the other at the courthouse in Halifax. Most of the cases were heard in Halifax. The Roanoke Rapids court meted these fines and sen tences: William L. Trippe was found guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicants and lined $100 and costs and his li cense was revoked for 12 months. Trippe filed notice of appeal to Superior Court and bond was set at $200. George W. Lane, J\, was found not guilty of driving while under the influence of in toxicants and reckless driving. But Lane was adjudged guilty of hit and run driving and fined $25 and costs Samuel Daniel was found guilty of destroying property. Prayer for judgment was con tinued on the payment of costs of court and on the condition that Daniels buys a coat for Catherine Copeland. He was given 30 days in which to com ply with the court's ruling. Eddie Garner was adjudged guilty of driving drunk and was fined $100 and costs and had his license revoked lor 12 months. Francis Daniel and Sam Daniel, who faced charges of selling beer without a license and allowing a minor to sell beer, were found guilty of sell ing beer without a license, but were found not guilty of allow ing a minor to sell beer. Each is to pay one-half the costs of court and refrain from apply ing for a license to sell beer for two years. George Mangum was foun d guilty of driving drunk and oper ating an automobile with impro per lights. He was fined $100 and costs. Ernest Nethery was found guilty of speeding and was fined $10 and costs. Elmer H. Daughtry was found not guilty of assault and reck less driving. Buck Wright was found guilt y of recklPRS drivincr anH ing. He was fined $50 and costs. James Thomas Reeves was found guilty of driving witho u t licnese. He was fined $25 and costs. Charles F. Todd was found guilty of driving drunk. Calf in L. Spense was fou η d guilty of reckless driving an d was fined $10 and costs. Recorder's Court met in Hali fax June 15, 1948. Andrew Mitchell was tried for bastardy and non-support. The Court found that the defendan t had violated the terms of the jud ment entered June 20, 1944, and that he is in arrears in the amount of $345. It was ordered that the defendant be confined in jail for a period of 10 months ο be assigned to work the roads. The execution of the sentence to be suspended upon condition the defendant pays in cash the sum Df $100 for the use of Margaret Doyle and the sum of $20 month ly thereafter, payment to be Tiade through the office of Dept }f Public Welfare of Halifax bounty. George Rohanna was char g ed vith speeding but the case was ιοί pros with leave. McCoy Hunter was found guil ,y of driving while drunk an d lined $100 and costs and license vas revoked for 12 months Charles Henry Stephenson was uuuu guiuy οι speeding. H e vas fined $10 and costs. Cyrus Jones was found not ïuilty of driving while drunk. McCoy Wiggins was charged vith possession of illegal liquor. 3rayer for judgement was con inued upon payment of the costs nd on condition he remained on iood behavior for two years. Cleveland Batts was charged vith the manufacture and poss esion of liquor. He was sen enced t,o two years in jail to be issigned to do work under the lirection of State Highway and 3ublic Works Commission. The •xecution of the sentence to be iuspended upon condition the de endant pays the costs and a fine f $150 and remains on good be lavior and out of Halifax Coun School Officials Ârsd Others Wait Outside As Board Acts Jn Session Closed To Public Halifax — Two of the three members of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners present for a meeting here Monday, voted to increase the county tax rate 25 cents. This places the tax rate for the next fiscal year at 90 cents. Five cents of the increase will be used for general county expenses and 20 cents for the benefit of schools. Closed Meeting Present at the closed meeting were: Commissioners John B. Davis of Enfield. C. Shields Alexander of Scotland Neck and Junius Wrenn of Roanoke Rapids. Also present were Irwin Clark, Halifax County attorney, and Frank D. Wilson, Register of Deeds. — 1 Dickens Corne» Lale Check Forger Being He!d In County Jail Rexford Joyner, 25, white, of Rockingham and Roanoke Rsp ids, is being held in the Ha.,: fax County jail under $5,000 bond to await trial on charges of check forgery in Halifax find I Richmond counties, police re ported today. Joyner is reported to have forged the name of W. S. Dean, city, to five checks diav/n on the Rosemary Branch of the Roanoke Bank and Trust Com pany in amounts totaling appro ximately $250. The checks were made out to fictitious persons, and, according to bank officials, the signature of Dean »vas the "crudest kind of forgery." The following stores cashed the checks: Batton Grocery, R. I. Starke Grocery, J. M. Bull s Store, Standard Grocery, and ûû C. Morris. Joyner was picked up by lo-j cal Dolice last Fridav niant. He will be tried during the August term in the Halifax Superior Court. Joyner has also be':n charg ed with check forgery by Sher iff Holland of Richmona County where he is said to h* 'e Gorged the name of A. R. Williams, Rockingham, on checks totahng approximately $250. Closed Monday, July 5 The local office of the North Carolina State Employment Ser vice will be closed Monday, July 5. Unemployment Compensation and Readjustment Allowance claimants may file the follow ing Monday according to infor mation just received from the Budget Bureau of the Employ ment Security Commission m Raleigh. ty for a period of five years. Ben Carney was found guilty of the manufacture and possess ion of liquor. He was sentenced to two years in jail to be assign ed to do work under the direc tion of State Highway and Public Works Commission. The execu tion of the foregoing sentence to be suspended upon condition he pays a fine of $150 and costs and remains of good behavior for two years during which period he shall report to this Court eac h first Tuesday and show compli ance with this judgment. Frank Lane Barnes was found guilty of speeding and fined $10 and costs. Ray Drake was found not guil ty of allowing an unlicensed person to operate his cai. George L. Îîadden was foun d guilty of driving while drunk. He was fined $100 and costs. J. M. Harper, Jr. was found Sumy υι speeaing. lie was fin ed $10 and costs. Larry Vernon Harrison was charged with driving after his license had been revoked. H e was given eight months in Jail to be assigned to do work under the direction of State Highway Public Works Commission. The execution of the foregoing sen tence is suspended upon cond i - tion the defendant pays a fin e of $200 and the costs and r e - frains from the operation of any motor vehicle for a period o£ three years. Herman Cain was found guilty of driving without license and was given 90 days in jail to be assigned to work under the dir ection of State Highway and Pub li : Works Commission. Roy Rogers was found not guilty of carrying a concealed weapon. Willie Lee Hunter was found guilty of abandonment and non support. He was given eight months in jail to be assigned to1 do work under the direction of State Highway and Public Works ^ (Continued on page $). I Chairman οι xne uoara 01 Commissioners, D. G. Dickens of Littleton, arrived after the tax increase motion had been pars ed by a majority of the quorum present. The meeting was sche duled for 9:30 a. m.; it began at 10:45 a. m. Dickens expressed strong disapproval of the action taken and indicated that he would have voted against the tax increase. Meade H. Mitchell, another Commissioner, was out of town and unable to be present. Proxy Chairman At the meeting Davis moved that Wrenn act as chairman in the place of the absent Dickens. This motion was seconded by Alexnader and carried. Davis then moved that the county tax rate be raised five cents for general county expenses and 20 cents for the benefit of the schools. This motion was sec onded by Alexander. Voting tor were Davis and Alexander. Vot ing against was Wrenn. ~ After The Vote After the voting took place W. L. Manning, member of the Roanoke Rapids School Board; W. Hei^ry Overman, Superin tendent of the Halifax- County Schools; Superintendent I. E. iicauj, v_. xj. iituv, i^nuiiiiiaii of the County Board of Educa tion and a Herald reporter were admitted to the room. Third Meeting Yesterday's meeting was the third this month that the Board of Commissioners have had in regard to a tax rate increase. Originally brought up at the reg ular meeting of the board on June 7, the proposal w^s voted down when Chairman Dickens added his "no" vote to those of Wrenn and Mitchell. Alexander and Davis voted for the tax increase. At a meeting on June 14 the absence of Mitchell left the re mainder of the board members deadlocked two to two and tne commissioners adjourned until yesterday's meeting. $211.500 For Schools Since the estimated taxable valuation for Halifax County is $45,000,000, the new tax levy for schools, 50 cents out of Ihs new 90 cent rate, will be more than $211,500.00 annually. The Commissioners said that the County Board of Education and the auditor could decide what portion of this amount will be spent on capital outlay and current expenses. The county's previous tax rate was 65 cents. School Awards Available To State Farm Boys Twenty awards of $100 each will be made to graduates of North Carolina high schools who wish to enter the curricula in agriculture at North Carolina State College in September, 1948. These scholarships are in tended for farm boys who need financial aid in beginning their college education, and are made possible by grants from the Sears-Roebuck Foundation. The scholarships will be awarded primarily on the basis of need, with consideration also being given to scholastic record in high school, participation in 4-H Club or FFA projects, and other community activities. Vet erans are eligible, especially those who are married and have children. One-half of the award will be paid to recipients on October 1, and can be used for the payment of any college expenses, includ ing board and room. The second installment will be paid on Jan uary 15, provided the student, has made a successful record iuring the fall term. Almost half of all Navy offic ers on active duty have risen from enlisted service, Burqau of Naval Personnel statistics ^how.