The FrankMn Times
Published Every Tuesday & Thursday A ^ c ? : ? A"
Ten Cents
Louisburg, N. C? Tuesday. November 19, 1968
Serving All Of Franklin County
(Ten Pages Today)
99th Year-Number 79
ROBBINS
HESSEE
College Gets Sears Grant
Unrestricted grants totaling $1 mil
lion were distributed this week by The
Sears-Roebuck Foundation under a
continuing program of aid to privately
supported colleges and universities ac
cording to W. H. (lessee, local repre
sentative of the Foundation.
In announcing the distribution of
the 1968 grants, Hessee said the
twenty-two participating colleges and
universities in North Carolina shared in
grants totaling $22,500. In the Raleigh
area. Meredith College, St. Mary's
Junior College, and Louisburg College
received grants totaling $2,000.
Purpose of the program is system
atically to help private institutions of
higher learning meet their financial
needs.
Altogether, more than 700 colleges
and universities from coast to coast
will receive Sean Foundation grants.
They arc unrestricted to allow the
schools to allocate their funds accord
ing to their greatest needs.
In addition to its grant program,
the Foundation during the current
year will invest in excess of $900,000
in a variety of scholarships and other
types of education programs, bringing
its total expenditures for higher educa
tion purposes this year to approxi
mately $1.9 million.
Conyers Begins
Sentence
Monday
Edward Louis Conyers, 58-year-old
Franklinton. Rt. 1, farmer began ser
ving a sentence of 4 to 6 years
Monday, in the ambush shooting of a
cousin on May 17, 1967. Conyers was
convicted of secret assault in Superior
Court here last May and was sentenced
by Judge Henry A. McKinnon, Jr. to
not less than four or more than six
years in prison.
Conyers immediately served notice
of appeal and the higher court found
no error and affirmed the McKinnon
decision. The ruling was certified to
Superior Court here on November 4,
according to reports and Conyers was
committed Monday.
He was charged with seriously
wounding Howard J. Conyers, 39, also
of Rt. 1, Franklinton while the
younger man was riding a tractor in an
open field. The elder Conyers had
claimed throughout his trial that the
shooting was self defense. The younger
Conyers spent a long period in the
hospital recovering from leg and arm
wounds. The incident reportedly took
place around 11:30 a.m. and testi
mony at the trial disclosed that the
elder Conyers came from inside a barn
and began firing at the younger man.
Middle Belt Sales Smallest In 25 Years
Sales on Middle Belt flue-cured
tobacco markets during the 1968 sea
son were the smallest in 25 years, or
since 1943, and money paid to grow
ers declined to the lowest point in
eleven years, a final summary by the
Federal - State Market News Service
reported. Most grade prices, however,
increased over 1967 season levels.
Grower consignments to the Stabili
zation Corporation decreased, but
even so accounted for a substantial
percentage of total sales. The price
support agency received 26.9 million
pounds, or 24.4 percent of gross sales.
During the 1967 season. Stabilization
received 49.6 million pounds, or 32.6
percent of gross turnover. Support
level for all tobacco offered in the belt
during the season, regardless of
whether or not placed under loan,
averaged $60.92 per hundred pounds.
Quality was lower than last year.
Untied tobacco was eligible for govern
ment price support during the entire
season for the first time in history.
Gross sales for the season, including
resales, were 110,538,997 pounds, for
which growers were paid $70,794,602
for an average of $64.04. Sales were
41.5 million pounds and 24.5 million
dollars less than in 1967. The general
average gained $1.38 and ranked third
to the record high set in 1961. Season
totals consisted of 110,242,936
pounds of untied tobacco averaging
$64.06. with only 296,061 pounds of
tied for an average of $59.97.
Gains in grade averages over the
1967 crop levels were general. In
creases were chiefly $1 to $5 per
hundred pounds but ranged as much as
$8. Largest advances were most consis
tent for leaf grades of straight lemon
and orange colors. The few losses that
Sportswear Files Appeal
With Fourth Circuit Court
An official of the Louisburg Sports
wear plant reported last week that the
firm has filed an appeal from a ruling
by the National Labor Relations
Board, with the U. S. Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals in Richmond. Va.
That statement said simply, "The
attorneys for Louisburg Sportswear
have studied the decision and consider
it erronous. On that basis the company
has instructed their attorneys to ap
peal the decision."
A three-member panel of the NLRB
affirmed an earlier decision by Trial
Examiner Harry R. Hinkes which ruled
in favor of the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers Union of America in the case
which began in October of 1967.
Hinkes had ordered, among a num
ber of things, that the company
"Upon request bargain collectively
with. ..the union as the exclusive repre
sentative of all the employees in the...
unit and embody in a signed agree
ment any understanding reached....".
Employees of the local plant voted
against the Union on October 12,
1967. 121-39.
occurred were for low primings and
some grades of nondescript.
Marketings consisted of larger per
centages of poor quality leaf and
nondescript than during the 1967 sea
See MARKET Page 4
Extended
Interruption
Explained
Unforeseen difficulties and a fallen
tree limb combined to cause a sche
duled power interruption by Carolina
Power and Light Company to extend
beyond the announced 7 a.m. deadline
Sunday morning.
The interruption had been sche
duled for portions of Nash and Frank
lin Counties so that workmen could
service a 66,000 volt transmission line.
The work actually took until 8:55
a.m. to complete.
Return of service to some cus
tomers was delayed until 11 a.m. by a
tree limb which had fallen in a remote
area and caused damage to the lines.
Kenneth McCurry, Carolina Power
and Light service representative for
Louisburg, stated that scheduled inter
ruptions normally follow the announc
ed timetable. "Occasionally" he said
"service men discover after work be
gins that repairs must be more exten
sive than have been thought. The tree
limb caused an even longer delay to
some customers.
"Carolina Power and Light Com
pany apologizes for the inconvenience
caused." he said.
Eight Hurt
Eight persons were injured in the two-car smash shown above last Friday night shortly after 6 p.m. on N. C. 56 four miles east
of Louisburg. The victims, all treated at Fnnklln Memorial Hospital but not believed seriously injured, were identified as
Richard H. Morgan, w/m/34, his wife, Judy, 27, daughter, Darlene, 5 and son, Richie, 2, all of Fnnklinton riding In one car and
Mary Boddie, c/f/28, Martin Whitaker, c/m/61, George Tyree, c/m/24 and Ben Wester, c/m/18, all of Rt. 2, Halifax riding in the
second vehicle. Another accident related to this one occurred at the intersection of Bickett Blvd. and N. C. 561 when Dean
Holton, a member of the Rescue Service in answering the call to the N. C. 56 accident attempted to pass a car driven by Mrs.
Trudy Jones Lancaster. 21, Rt. 2, Louisburg. Mrs. Lancaster, according to reports, started a left turn as Holton pulled along side.
She was treated at Franklin Memorial Hospital. Holton was uninjured, but both cars were severely damaged, according to
reporti Staff photo by Clint Fuller. i.i
mi ?' -n s 'Ajf
It Could Be Your Child
School Bos Passers Get Warning
State Trooper D. C. Day has issued a stern warning to motorists who have been carelessly passing stopped school buses in the
Louisburg area. Day says that he has received reports of a number of infractions of this mle of highway safety and that he has
instructed bus drivers to get the license numbers of those violating this law. He warns that everyone passing a stopped school bus
will be indicted.
Richard Smith. Franklin native in charge of Franklin and Halifax school bus safety, explained that a conviction of passing a
school bus carries 3 points against the motorist's insurance which automatically takes away the 10 percent discount and causes
an increase of 35 percent in future premiums. Day explained that such a conviction also carries five points against-tln>operator's
license. This, he explains, is in addition to the cost and fine such a conviction would bring on.
Day and Smith both pointed out the extreme danger in passing a stopped bus. Smith says that two children have. been killed
in the state already this year in school bus incidents. Day pointed out that small children arc difficult to sec stepping from in
front of a bus.
While there apparently have been reports elsewhere. Day emphasized that the situation is most acute in Louisburg and
stressed the importance of the matter by saying that indictments will follow arrests in such cases.
Friends Of Lee Murray To Petition Court
A group of around fifty persons
from Franklin and Wake Counties met
here Monday night and voted to peti
tion Superior Court Judge Leo Carr of
Burlington for leniency in the case of
former county accountant Lee Mur
ray.
The group, calling themselves
"friends of Lee Murray", also agreed
to stage a limited fund drive simul
taneously with the gathering of signa
tures on the petition. Murray was
convicted of embezzlement and sen
tenced to 3 to 5 years in prison on
October 25. Pleas by his attorneys
failed to sway Judge Carr into granting
probation in the case.
Petitions are being prepared today
for distribution to those present at the
meeting and additional copies will be
available for others interested in help
ing. a spokesman for the group said.
The petition will ask Judge Leo
Carr to change Murray's active sen
tence to "one of a period of proba
tion".
Franklin Sheriff William T. Dement
will head the committee which is to
present the petition to Judge Carr next
Monday morning when the Judge
comes to Louisburg to hold court.
Dement was given a list of several
names from which to chose his full
committee. Two members will be from
Zebulon, where Murray now lives.
C. T. Dean, Jr. welcomed the group
to the local agriculture building Mon
day night and James Wilder moved to
circulate the petition and to seek
funds to aid Murray and his family.
Felton Cash seconded the motion and
it was carried by a loud voice vote.
Classroom
Teachers
Meet Here
Mrs. Mary C. Nesbitt, President of
the NCEA Division of Classroom
Teachers, was the principal speaker at
the meeting the Franklin County unit
of CTA here last week. She spoke on
the subject, "Our Commitment: A
Child Well Taught."
The meeting was held at Louisburg
High School last Wednesday after
noon. Others appearing on the pro
gram included Odis Bolter and Wins
ton W. Kerley, President of the Frank
lin County organization.
Mrs. Nesbitt talked on principles,
policies and possibilities for helping
teachers of the Association. The meet
ing was well attended, according to
reports. i
Tyree Lancaster suggested that the
group meet again following the con
ference with Judge Carr on Monday,
but it was decided to call the group
back together by letter.
Petitions are to be returned to Clint
Fuller not later than 9 a.m. Monday
morning and additional copies of the
petition can be obtained from Fuller
at The Franklin Times office on Bic
kett Blvd.
Several close neighbors of Murray
expressed their feelings toward him.
One said. "He's the best neighbor a
man ever had -and I say this with some
of my present neighbors here tonight".
Another said about the same, after
explaining that she had lived next door
to the Murrays for 14 years.
M. L. Hagwood of Zebulon. expres
sed the way "folks in Zebulon feel"
about Murray and said, "Whatever you
do in Franklin County, we'll match it
in Zebulon". Several neighbors and
friends of Murray from Wake County
were present, including members of
the Zebulon Lions Club.
A spokesman for the group ex
plained the purpose of the meeting by
saying. "We're not here to consider the
guilt or innocence ? the correctness or
incorrectness of the verdict. Anybody
can be a fair weather friend. If we
aren't friends in the rain, we're aren't
friends at all. We are here to see what
we can do to help a friend in need".
A letter had been sent out last week
inviting a small number of known
friends to the meeting and asking that
they feel free to bring anyone else
with them. One of the committee
sending out the letters reported Mon
day night. "We have 100 percent
attendance. Everybody contacted is
here".
One member of the group said near
the close of the meeting. "We'll try
this for now. If this doesn't work,
we'll try something else. We do not
intend to give up."
Trapped Inside
Members of the Louisburg Rescue Service are shown above freeing Isham Lee
Kearney, c/m/21 of Rt. 4, Louisburg from the wreckage of a car in which he was
riding late Saturday afternoon. The car ran off N. C. 56 near Edward Best School
and overturned pinning Kearney inside. George Van Harris, c/m/26, and Martin
Kearney, c/m/21, were also riding in the car. None were believed seriously injured.
Staff Photo by Clint Fuller.