The Franklin Times
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Published Every Tuesday & Thursday ? J \ (??:?? aii nt c,? lk- r?..?iu
Serving All Of Franklin County
Tel. GY6-3283
Ten Cents
Louisburg, N. C., Thursday, September 5, 1968
(Twelve Pages Today)
99th Year-Number 58
Water Low, But Alright For Now
Scene above of the Tar River at the Louisburg pump
station here shows the river at its lowest in years. The long
dry spell experienced here is taking its toll of water, but
Louisburg Utilities Superintendent George Dennis said this
morning, "We're doing alright". Both he and Weatherman G.
0. Kennedy say the river is lower than they have ever seen it.
Kennedy reports a measurement of 1.3 feet this morning.
He says this is stationary and has been the measurement for
the past three days. He also said that normally, the
measurement is between two and two-and-a-half feet. Ken
nedy had reported earlier that only three inches of rain were
received here during the month of August this year.
Last year's rainfall for the same period was eight inches.
Like most weathermen, he expressed hope for some relief,
pointing to predictions of 20 per cent chance of rain today,
30 percent tonight and 50 per cent on Friday.
Dennis said that his department lowered the pump
three-and-a-half feet a few months ago and had this not been
done, the area might be experiencing a water shortage. Both
he and Kennedy stressed that there is no undue concern at
present over the water supply.
Board Wrestles With School
Opening Problems Until 2 A.M.
Wrestling with a multitude of pro
blems attendant to the opening of
county schools Friday, the Board of
Education sat in session until 2 a.m.
Wednesday morning. The session
which began at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
night was one of the longest in the
history of the Board.
Problems being worked on were bus
routes and an acute shortage of bus
drivers, student assignments, and pro
cedures for opening day.
A group of citizens representing the
Committee for the Presevation of the
Public Schools visited the Board at one
point in the lenghty session. The group
came to get information on safety
measures to be taken and on sanitation
Winston
Addresses
Local Lions
The Louisburg Lions Club conven
ed at the Murphy House Tuesday
evening. The guest speaker was F. C.
Winston, a charter member of Youngs
ville Lions and the vocational agricul
ture teacher in Youngsville,
Lion Winston, an agriculture
teacher for forty-two years, told of his
recent study tour of Europe, using
magnificent slides with his talk. He
limited his talk to tours of England
and Holland. The slides of London
were of familiar sites such as Big Ben,
London Bridge, Parliament, and the
River Thames. Among the Holland
slides were pictures of commercial
tulips, old windmills, and holstein
cows.
Three awards were made. Lion Bud
dy Beam received a special pen and
certificate for recruiting two members
for the local Lions. Lion Paul Mullen
received a plaque for his tenure as part
president. The most outstanding award
was claimed by Lion Pete Shearin,
who recently celebrated twenty-five
years of perfect attendance in Ltonism
at Louisburg, and was commended
highly for being so dedicated to the
organization.
One visitor was present: Ernest
Bolick, the new Dean of Men at
Louisburg College.
facilities at the schools.
Millard Wester, Freddie Johnson,
Archie Bunn and Mrs. Falcon Jones
spoke for the group which also in
cluded Guthrie Strawbridge and Billy
Bowden. Following an exchange of
ideas and information the group
voiced its support of the Board and
received the Board's expression of
appreciation for their support. The
Committee sponsored a county wide
meeting last week in a local warehouse
to discuss a boycott of schools. The
boycott was not discussed in Tues
day's meeting.
Mrs. Margaret Holmes, Associate
Superintendent told the group of the
concern for their children held by
school officials and the faculties and
assured them that "everything possible
is being done to give your children the
best education we can". She explained
some of the many steps being taken
and spoke of the dedication of the
teachers in these efforts.
The group was also told of regular
safety procedures and sanitation in
spections carried out in all the schools.
It was disclosed that the Board
expects some confusion on opening,
particularly in pupil assignments. The
office staff has been making assign
ments based on geographic zones or
dered by the District Court and on
information each child's census card.
Already some errors have been found
and others are expected. Some stu
dents listed townships other than the.
one in which they live and some
mistakes have been found in location
of families.
The Board asked that parents and
students take these things into consid
eration and that adjustments will be
made as rapidly as possible. A major
portion of Tuesday's session was taken
up in going over these problems.
Where errors were found, the Board
readily corrected them. Another ses
sion Is slated for Saturday night in the
expectation of correcting any other
errors found during the Friday regis
tration period.
It was explained that in some cases
children were assigned to the wrong
school and that these would be cor
rected as soon as discovered. In cases
where students have not received a
new assignment this week, the assign
ment issued on report cards at the
cloee of school last year prevails and
children will report to that school
Friday at 1:30 P.M. '
It was also revealed in the meeting
that there are but seven teacher vacan
cies in the entire system, which, ac
cording to reports is about normal.
A new innovation will be instituted
this year after a trial period last year in
some grades. Team teaching is to be
established throughout the system
from grades one through twelve. Mrs.
Holmes is in charge of this new sys
tem.
Bar Association
Requests Courthouse Elevator
The Board of County Commission
ers, meeting here Tuesday in regular
monthly session, heard a formal re
quest from the Franklin County Bar
Association that an elevator be install
ed in the courthouse. The request was
presented on behalf of the Bar by
attorneys W. H. Taylor and J. P.
Lumpkin.
Stated in form of a resolution,
Local Guard
Gets Praise
The 5th Battalion 113th Artillery
of the 30th Infantry Division (Mecha
nized) returned from Fort Sill, Okla
homa last Saturday aboard two C-124
Globemasters aircraft assigned to the
Oklahoma Air National Guard, after
completing two weeks of active duty
training at the United States Army
Artillery and Missile Center located at
Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
The Battalion underwent extensive
field training making day and night
movements, occupying firing positions
and actually firing four live Honest
John Rockets, hitting the target with
pinpoint accuracy. Regular Army
Evaluators gave high praise to all units
of the Battalion for their outstanding
performance, "Can Do" attitude ahd
high esprit de corps and gave all units
Superior ratings for their performance.
The- three Batteries number 200
men and are located in Louisburg.
Youngsville and Zebulon.
originally moved by attorney Charles
Davis and seconded by W. M. Jolly,
the request states, in part, the purpose
is "for the convenience of the public,
it being understood that many of our
citizens and particularly the elderly
members of the community ex
perience difficulty attending necessary
county functions held in the court
room and that an elevator would be of
j great benefit to the citizens of Frank
lin County."
The Board ordered that the matter
be investigated as to cost and the J. M.
Thompson Construction firm is to be
asked for a price. The firm is presently
renovating the courthouse.
Another request from the Bar As
sociation was also received. This was a
request for fans and an amplifier to be
used in the temporary courtroom in
the Louisburg Armory. The Board
called in Louisburg Mayor V. A.
Peoples as a consultant on the ampli
fier. which was estimated will cost
around $500 and can be moved to the
courthouse when the courtroom is
completed.
State Senator nominee Gen. Ed
ward Griffin and State Representative
nominee James Speed appeared before
the Board for a general discussion on
county finances and revenues. William
Place was awarded the audit of the
Accountant's office and the Welfare
and Sheriffs departments. Lonnie R.
Shuping was awarded the audit of the
Register of Deeds office, in other
reactions of the Board.
The next meeting of the Board is
slated for 3:30 p.m. Friday, Septem
bers . ?
Constitutional Question To Be Raised
Board Appeal Hearing Set
For October 9 At Richmond
The Franklin County Board of Ed
ucation's appeal of the August 5 ruling
by U. S. Eastern District Judge Alger
non Butler has been set for Wednes
day, October 9, in Richmond, Va. The
appeal will be heard by the full seven
member Fourth Circuit Court of Ap
peals beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Board attorney Edward F. Yar
borough said Wednesday that the
School Board will contend before the
entire tribunal that the District Court
overstepped its authority in ordering
the complete reorganization of Frank
lin schools.
The Board hopes to have the Butler
ruling overthrown and to be allowed
to desegregate the school system under
a plan developed by the Board.
A three-judge panel of the Circuit
Court denied Franklin's request for a
stay of the Butler order on August 27,
while granting similar requests for
school systems in Beaufort County
and Edenton-Chowan County. The
stays for these two units were overrul
ed two days later when U. S. Supreme
Court Justice Hugo Black acted at the
Cautioned On
ASC Ballots
Farmers were reminded today of a
very important part of the election
process for Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation (ASC) Community
committeemen, especially where bal
lots are mailed in to the ASCS county
office. In North Carolina. Franklin
County, the ballots will be mailed
September 6, 1968, and the deadline
for returning ballots in the community
elections, is September 16, 1968.
C. C. Perry, Chairman, Franklin
ASC Committee, points out that two
envelopes will be mailed with the
ballots sent to all eligible voters of
record in the county office. One enve
lope is plain, and the other has a
statement printed on the back which
the farmer needs to sign. A witnessed
mark will also qualify as a signature.
The ballot should be marked and
sealed inside the plain envelope; voters
are cautioned not to enclose any other
material. Also, voters should not write
on the plain envelope. This assures the
secrecy of the vote.
The plain envelope should then be
put inside the envelope with the state
ment on the back. This statement is a
certification that the ballot was mark
ed by the farmer personally without
undue innuence by any person. The
envelope should then be mailed or
otherwise delivered to the ASCS coun
ty office.
request of J. Lavonne Chambers, attor
ney for the NAACP in these and the
Franklin case.
An appeal by the Franklin Board of
an order of August, 1967 by the
District Court which killed freedom of
choice, was denied last April by the
Richmond-based tribunal. The case
was heard on February 5, 1968 and
the ruling affirming the Butler order
came down on April 9 of this year
It is expected that the Board will
raise the question of time in the
October hearing. It will contend that
the District Court erred in compelling
total desegregation in one year and
that a reasonable time should have
been allowed. The arguments will
probably also touch on the fact that
the Butler order goes far beyond the
authority of the courts in that Frank
lin is required to do more in a shorter
period of time than that required of
other school systems.
Attorneys for the Board and attor
neys for the Justice Department and
the NAACP are preparing the necess
ary papers for the hearing. The three
judge panel, in denying the request for
a stay, moved the hearing date up to
October. No reason, however, was
given for this action.
Notice Given To Students
t
Superintendent of Schools Warren Smith issued an announcement
Wednesday to all county school students, pertaining to Friday's
registration. School buses will run Friday, picking up children in time
to have them at their schools by 1 :30 p.m.
Smith advised all students to board the bus serving their area. In
some instances, some students may be transported to a school to which
they have not been assigned. Any such errors will be corrected as soon
as possible, he said.
Due to the shortness of time in which assignments had to be made,
census cards of students were used and some errors have been
discovered. These are being corrected as rapidly as possible. Smith said.
He asked for the cooperation of all citizens in making the Friday
registration and the Monday opening as orderly as possible. He said that
every step is being taken to eliminate confusion, but that there is not
enough time to study all cases prior to registration.
He added that the Board of Education will hold a special meeting
Saturday night to correct any errors in assignments found in Friday's
registration. Students will remain at school until 3:30 p.m. Friday and
classes will be held from 8 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. beginning Monday;
Market Average Drops
The $68.18 average registered on
the Louisburg tobacco market Wednes
day was below the reported $70.25
average of opening day. but the qua
lity of offerings was also lower.
William Boone, Sales Superviser of
the local market, said figures on Tues
day's opening sales were not available
this morning, but he added some over
300,000 pounds of leaf was sold here
on opening day. The $70.25 average is
his estimate of the sales on Tuesday.
Figures were given, however, for
Wednesday's sales. Mr. Boone reported
269,064 pounds of tobacco was sold
Wednesday for $183,423 and an aver
age of $68.18.
Middle Belt sales Tuesday totaled
4,629,083 pounds and averaged
$69.48 per hundred. This was $2.35
higher than last year's previous open
ing day high of $67.13.
Some 11.7 per cent of the Middle
Belt's opening day sales went to the
Stabilization Corp. under the govern
ment price support program as com
pared with 12.5 per cent on opening
day last year. On the Old Belt, 4.8 per
cent of the opening sales went to
See MARKET Page 6
Enrollment
Increases
(Frk. B.W.) Enrollment in the
Franklinton City Schools has increased
from 1022 on the opening day, August
28, to 1307 students.
Franklinton High School now
shows an enrollment of 745 as com
pared with 612 on August 28.
B. F. Person-Albion School now has
562 students as compared with 410 on
August 28.
Leaf Group Sets Sales
The industrywide Flue-Cured To
bacco Marketing Committee Wednes
day night recommended schedules for
tobacco auction markets in the Caro
linas and Virginia to follow for the
Judge Hobgood
Names Court
Reporter
Judge Hamilton H. Hobgood, of
Louisburg, N. C., has appointed Mrs.
Rebecca Duncan Dickerson of Oxford,
North Carolina, as the Official Court
Reporter for the Ninth Judicial Dis
trict. commencing 2 December 1968.
The Ninth District is composed of
Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance and
Warren Counties. The Court Report
er's term of office is at the pleasure of
the Senior Regular Superior Court
Judge of the Ninth District.
Mrs. Dickerson has been Court Re
porter for Granville and surrounding
counties since 195S. She has been
President of Webb High School PTA,
and Granville County Cancer Society,
and is a member of Enon Baptist
Church. Shells a native of Granville
County, was formerly married to
Luther Currin, deceased, and has two
teenage daughters, Teresa and Becky
Lynn Currin.
next two weeks.
It proposed that for the week of
Sept. 912, markets of the South
Carolina-Border North Carolina Belt
operate three hours a day for four
days; that the Eastern North Carolina
Belt operate five hours per day for
four days; that the Middle Belt and
nine markets of the North Carolina
Virginia Old Belt operate four hours a
day for four days.
For the week of Sept. 16-19, the
committee recommended that Eastern,
Middle and Old Belt markets operate
four hours a day for four days. For
South Carolina-Border North Carolina
markets it proposed the following
schedule: one-sale markets, two hours
a day with one set of buyers; two sale
markets, four hours a day with one set
of buyers; for three-sale markets, three
hours a day with two sets of buyers;
and four-sale markets, four hours a
day with two sets of buyers, all for
four days.
The schedule adopted was proposed
by Howard Cone of Richmond, Va.,
spokesman for the sales committee of
the Tobacco Association of the United
States, a buyer group.
Growers and warehousemen from
the South Carolina-Border Belt made
repeated efforts to amend the schedule
to give their markets more selling time,
but they were outvoted.
Rep. Alton A. Lennon, D-N.C.,
whose district includes the Border Belt
See SALES Page 6