The FrSMl Times
Published Every Tuesday A Thursday ' Serving All Of Franklin County t J.
, Your Award Winning County Newspaper*
98th Year-Number 78 Ten Cents Louisburg, N. C. Thursday, November 16, 1967 * Twelve Pages Today
HARVEY R. STROTM E"
"Now A Little Fishing"
After Forty Years,
The Long Hikes Are Over
By Clint Fuller '
Times Managing Editor
- ? t
After forty years, the long hike Is
over to-' veteran mall carrier Har
vey Ray Strother. Retirement came
on November 3 from a position held
faithfully since March 14, 1929. Strother
began his postal career on May 11,
1927 here In Loulsburg.
"I'm going to put In a little time
fishing", he said, "I don't want to
ever catch up with my fishing".
Strother, 6?, rill be honored by his
co-workers at the Loulsburg Post Of
fice Friday night with a supper.
He began his career with the Postal
Service with a temporary appointment
In 1927. Soon thereafter, he went to
Raleigh to take a test for a permanent
position. This was followed by the offer
of a post with the service In Raleigh,
which be accepted. He worked In Raleigh
seven months before returning to
Loulsburg.
On March 14, 1929 he became a
substitute carrier on Loulsburg City
Route 2, which covers the northern
section of town. On April 1,,1929 he
was named regular carrier. He hiked
the "long blocks from that time until
the end of business on November 3
when he hung up his bag, parked his
cart and stored his uniforms.
"I've been bitten a dozen times by
dogs that wouldn't bite", he days In
remembering, "A couple of times I
was told a dog wouldn't bite after
he had already bitten me".
"The thing I remember, perhaps, Is
the tremendous change In the volume ot
mall and the length of the route",
Strother relates. "When 1 started the
route ended at Earl Murphy' s house at
Halifax Road. It's about twice the size
today".
"We had two deliveries a day until
sometime in the fifties", he recalls,
and only one a day since they cut out
the afternoon delivery". The route grew
longer when the deliveries were cut
back.
"The nice things people have done for
me over the years are too numerous to
mention", Strother says.
Troy Parker who joined the Post
Office In 1958 and who has served as
substitute carrier, will replace
Strother. Karl Pernell, veteran Louls
burg fireman recently resigned his
position to become substitute carrier
in Parker's place.
"I'd love to have a picture giving
Troy the old bag", Strother said.
The likable veteran, known In this
area for his ability with a fishing pole,
lives at 301 King Street with his wife,
the former Minnie Conyers of Frank
llnton, whom he married In 1928.
They have four children, Mrs. Joyce
Peoples, wife of the Loulsburg Mayor;
Mrs. Betty Fuller of the Moulton Com
munity, Harvey Ray Strother, Jr. trf
Frankllnton and Robert Henry Strother
of Raleigh. They have nine grandchil
dren.
As one observer put It, "Harvey must
like dogs. There was always a gang of
them following him around. They're
going to miss him". After thinking
about that for a moment, the man
added, "So are the people he has
served so long and so well".
m
CAP Search
Mission
Planned
The Franklin County Civil Air Pa
trol will be In charge of an air search
and rescue practice mission here Sat
urday and Sunday, according to a report
from Major J. Llnwood Gupton. The
operation will be one of the largest
ever staged here.
Participating In the operation, In ad
dition to the local unit will be units
from the entire Group 7 area and the
30th Battalion, Air National Guard from
Raleigh-Durham. Included In the 7th
Group are units from Henderson,
Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Rocky
Mount, Wilson and Loulsburg.
The operation will get underway here
Sat'irday with much of the time being
spent on ground work and planning.
A practice mission could be staged
Saturday afternoon but the main search
and rescue practice will come Sunday.
The two-day event will start at 1 P.M.
Saturday and conclude at 1P.M. Sunday,
according to Major Gupton. Sixteen air
planes are expected to take part In
the practice. Targets have already been
placed throughout the Franklin County
area and surrounding counties.
Gupton says he expects that some
pilots will fly In and camp at the
Franklin Airport overnight Saturday
in readiness for the Sunday morning
search. Major Allen, local unit Chap
lain will conduct Sunday services at
the field Sunday morning.
Gupton, who said tbe public Is Invited
to view the operation, explained that
the airplanes taking pert In the search
and rescue will be called "Mad-dog"
while the mobile ground unit which will
be in constant contact with the air
craft, will be known as "Blue-dog".
The base station will be called "Red
dog".
This is the second major event at
the local air field, staged by the CAP
In recent weeks. The organization spon
sored a fly- In last month which brought
a number of planes and hundreds of
spectators to the local facility.
Legion Gives
Flags To School
r
(FRK. B.W.) Tuesday morning, The
American Legion, Frankllnton Post
? 52, presented a set of Flags (the
United States Flag and the North Car
olina Flag) to the Frankllnton High
School.
Commander Bruce Honeycutt made
the presentation to the school before
an assembly In the school auditorium
at 9:30 A.M. He gave a brief history
of the United States Flag and what
It Is symbolic of to the 180,000,000
people who owe allegiance to the Flag.
Commander Honeycutt asked the stu
ent body to support Americanism and
always resppct the Flag In honor of
those citizens who have advanced It
and heroes who haye died for It.
Principal Wesley Jackson accepted
the Flag on behalf of the Frankllnton
High School. He expressed apprecia
tion to Commander Honeycutt and stated
that he would display the Flag with
pride.
Local Tobacco Market
To Close November 28
The Loulsbiirg tobacco market will"
close for the season on Tuesday, No
vember 28, according to an announce
ment made here by William Boone,
Sales Supervlser. The local ware
houses will observe five hour sales
days next Monday and Tuesday and
again on Monday and Tuesday of the
following week.
Five of the 10 markets on the Middle
Belt have announced closing dates or
have closed for the season.
The Henderson market has set a clos
ing date for next Tuesday. Final
sales for the Ellerbe market were held
the past Tuesday. The Carthage mar
ket closes this Thursday and Sanford
next Tuesday.
Markets that have not announced clos
ing are Oxford, Durham, Warrenton,
Fuquay-Varlna and Aberdeen.
Minor gains were reported In flue
cured tobacco sales on the Eastern
and Middle North Carolina belts Wed
nesday with gains and losses about even
In North Carolina-Virginia Old Belt
sales.
Pet Division
(FRK. B. W.) Any child, ages 5
through 14, wishing to have an entry
In the Frankllnton Christmas Parade
should contact Mrs. Paul Phtlpott
at 494-2422.
Pets; two, three or four wheeled
vehicles are allowed and costumes
are permitted. No motors will be al
lowed to enter the Pet Division.
The Federal-State Market News Ser
vice reported most Middle Belt gains
were only $1 a hundred pounds In light
trading.
The bulk of sales was low and poor
leaf, low smoking leaf, fair lugs and
nondescript.
Eury Joins
Fire Dept.,
Prince Returns
Today is the day of change at the
local fire and police station. A police
officer dons the fireman's badge and a
former policeman returns after an
absence of over a year.
Louisbufg police officer Gerald Eury
Is resigning from the force, effective
today to accept the position of engineer
with the fire department. Eury re
places Karl Pernell who Joins the post
office here full time tomorrow. Kyle
Prince, a former officer who has
lived in Apex with his father since the
death of his wife over a year ago, is
returning to take the post vacated by
Eury.
Eury Joins engineers Joe Perry and
Gray Moon as a three-man full time
force at the fire station. Prince
becomes the seventh member of the
local police force.
Flim-Flams
Take Woman
For $3,090
A Loulsburg Negro woman has been
flim-flammed out of $3,090 by three
other Negroes, according to reports
from Raleigh police. The incident took
place in Raleigh last, week.
Mrs. Raymond (Mary Harris )
Thomas, 110 Halifax Road told offic
ers she had been shopping on Fayette
vllle Street when she was approached
about 3 P.M. by two Negro women.
They struck up a conversation, she
reported, and she was told that the
two women had invested $1,000 for
which they would get back $8,000.
Mrs. Thomas told police that she
said to the women that she would
like to get In on something like that
and they went outside where they were
? Joined by a Negro man. All four came
to Loulsburg where Mrs. Thomas with
drew her money from the bank and
picked up what she had saved at home.
They returned to Raleigh where the
man dropped them off and left. One
of the women left a short time later,
the Loulsburg woman told police, then
th? second woman started to leave on
the pretence of calling the man to
sou what had happened to him.
At that point, Mrs. Thomas told
police, she became suspicious and
anked the woman her name. Other
than what she was told then, she said
she heard no other namos called during
the entire Incident. She gave police
a description of the trio, however.
Following the incident, th? Lou'sburg
woman fainted and fell on the street.
She was taken to Wiie Memorial Hor.3
ifal, according to reports.
At Football Banquet
(See Stories Page 8)
Principals at Wednesday night's Tar River Football
Conference banquet held here are pictured above. Left to
right, Helena High School Coach Dave Hodge, selected
Coach of the Year; Frankllnton Coach Hlrlam Guedalla,
who Introduced the main speaker; Loulsburg principal A1
Fox, president of the Conference; Ray Rhodes, Director
of Physical Education, N. C. Department of Public Instruc
tion, the featured speaker; and Simon Terrell, Executive /
Secretary of The High School Athletic Association of North
Carolina. The event was the first such meeting of the
conference formed last year, and twenty three players were
honored as All-Conference selections. Photo by Clint Fuller.
County Courthouse Bond Election: Questions And Answers
Editor* a Mote: On November 25, voters In Franklin County will decide whether
or not to approve a 9200,000 bond issue to Improve the county courthouse. Since
this election Is deemed a most Important one by this newspaper, we publish
here, in the public Interest, a series of questions and answers on the subject.
Q. Why is additional space needed?
A. Every office In the Courthouse is in need of more space. The situation is
especially critical In the Clerk of Court's office and the office of the Re
gister of Deeds and the Sheriff. When the new court system goes into effect
on December 1, IMS, all courts and all court records in the county will be
moved Into the courthouse.
Q. Could the county finance these Improvements without a bond Issue?
A. No under present North Carolina laws, Franklin cannot borrow this much
money.
Q. How much does the present 3 cent tax levy for courthouse Improvements
bring In?
A. $18,418.80. This will increase as property valuation increases.
Q. How is It proposed that the bonds will be retired?
A. One suggestion has been that the bonds be retired on a ten-year basis. At
six percent Interest this would require an annual payment of 927,200.
Q. Where will this money come from?
A. According to figures, approved by the Board of County Commissioners, the
J money will come from a variety of sources, mostly from the State at North
Carolina. n
Q. What does the state pay?
A. Under the new oourt system, the State will pay rent to the county based on
the number and type of court cases; salaries for the Clerk and employees
of his offloe, salaries of the Judge of Recorder's' Court, Vice Recorder,
Solicitor, Court Reporter and Jurors will no longer be paid by the county.
Q. How much will this save the county annually?
A. According to figures obtained from the Clerk's office, the afore mentioned
salaries, not including the Clerk's office, amounts to 915,200 saved annually.
Q. How many criminal cases were tried In local courts last year?
A. 3143
Q. How much does the State pay per case?
A. $2.00. Last year thli amounted to 96,286.00.
Q. What other payments are made by the State?
A. 915 for Superior Court cases; 92.00 for estate and special proceedings; 95.
00 for Superior Civil cases and 95-00 for Civil cases before Justices of
the Peace.
Q. How much Is this expected to bring in annually?
A. Based on last year's cases, the total would have been 910,036.00.
Q. Is this expected to increase?
A. All indications are that crime is on the Increase. Yes.
Q. What is the total the county can expect to collect from the state and the pre- ?
sent 3 cent tax levy?
A. Based on last year's court cases and property Valuation, the total Income
for the county would have been 937,654.50.
Q. Is this more than is required to retire the bonds?
A. Yes. According to figures endorsed by the Commissioners, the bonds will
require 927,900.00 annually for the next ten years. Under the current in
come estimates, this will leave the county a net of 910,454.50.
Q. Can the county receive this money from the state without renovating the
courthouse? - t
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A. Some of It. However, rental frorft the state will have to go to some private
citizen or firm who can furnish suitable space for the courts.
Q. Is a bond Issue required by the State?
A, No- But the General Assembly, In passing the court reform made It the re
sponsibility of the Board of County Commissioners to make available ad
equate space for the new offices.
Q. What happen if the bonds fail?
A. The Superior Court will order the Board of County Commissioners to sup
ply adequate space. This will require the Board to fine quarters outside the
present courthouse.
Q. Will the State pay rent for such quarters?
? ?
A. The State will pay the same rental fees, based on the number and types of
cases. The amount of income from this source may or may not be sufficient
to pay the total rental fee that might be charged by a private concern.
Q. If the State rental does not meet the payments, who pays it?
A. It will have to be paid by the county.
Q. Will approval of the bond Issue, cause a tax Increase?
A. The present Board of Commissioners say not.
Q. Will $200,000 be enough to adequately renovate the facility for the future?
A. The architect and the Court houee Planning Committee say it will be.
Q. Can anyone register for U? election now?
A. No. The books closed on November 11. \ . ;i v|
TO BE CONTINUED