The FfanMn Times
Published Every Tuesday & Thursday ^ V-^^. 1 X am r>? r
Serving All Of Franklin County
Tel. Gy6-3283
Ten Cents
Louisburg, N. C., Thursday. December 12, 1968
(Fourteen Pages Today)
99th Year-Number 86
Road Project Is Not Approved
The long-awaited NC 39, US 401
highway improvement project for
Franklin County was one of three such
projects in the state left out of bid
awards last Friday by the State High
way Commission. The Commission re
viewed bids totaling $32,679,271.40
and awarded contracts on projects
amounting to $31,830,005.10.
The T. A. Lovin Company of
Goldsboro was the "apparent low bid
der" on the Franklin project at
$725,185.10. While no announcement
has been made by the Commission as
to the present status of the project, it
is assumed that another bid will be
called for.
Funds for the Franklin project were
announced in two meetings here by
.Fifth Highway Commissioner J. B.
Brame. In the first announcment,
made in October of 1966, Franklin
was allotted $350,000 for improve
ments to NC 39-US 401 from Louis
burg to Ingleside. In January, 1967 it
was announced that an additional
$400,000 was being allocated and that
this amount would "hopefully" carry
the improvements to the Vance Coun
ty line.
In a hearing held here by, officials
of the Commission in October of this
year, M. T. Adkins, Division engineer
estimated the cost of the project,
J. R. HEFNER
LAMAR GREEN
RONALD JOHNSON
Three Officials Promoted
Management promotions have been
announced at the Franklinton Plant of
the Burlington Men's Wear division of
Burlington Industries.
J. R. Hefner has been promoted to
group manager for the division, with
manufacturing responsibilities for the
Franklinton, St. Pauls, Fayetteville
Fabrics and Lakedale plants. He will
be located in Fayetteville.
Succeeding him as manager of the
local plant will be Lamar Greene, who
is presently serving as plant superinten
dent. Ronald Johnson is being promot
ed from general overseer of yarn pre
paration to plant superintendent, suc
ceeding Mr. Greene.
Mr. Hefner has been manager at the
Franklinton Plant since 1965. He join
ed Burlington in 1941 and transferred
to Franklinton from Rhodhiss, N. C.
He is a native of Burke County and is
active in the Lions Club.
A native of Thompson, Ga., Mr.
Greene is a 1960 graduate of Clemson
University. He joined Burlington in
1963. He was appointed plant superin
tendent in August of this year. He is
active in the Franklinton Baptist
Church, the Franklinton Lions Club, is
married and has two children.
Mr. Johnson is a native of Fayette
Mitchell
Wins Election
Roger Mitchell won the election
held on December 6, 1968 to become
a Franklin Soil and Water Conserva
tion District Supervisor. He will take
the oath of office and begin a three
year term on January 1, 1969. He will
be serving with Bennie Ray Gupton,
K. G. Weldon, C. H. Newton and J. T.
Moss, all district supervisors of long
standing.
Soil and Water Conservation Dis
trict Supervisors occupy a position of
public office and public trust. As a
member of our local board, Mr. Mitc
hell will assist in program planning,
policy making and the carrying out of
a soil and water conservation program
for Franklin County and Franklin Soil
and Water Conservation District. Mem
bers of our county and district boards
will meet regularly with agricultural
agency representatives and other; in
terested in this important prbgram.
District supervisors are non-salaried
officials, serving district, state and
nation in this important role largely at
their own expense and without com
pensation in the form of salary.
Our Soil and Water Conservation
District is a subdivision of our N. C.
State Government, organized under
the provisions of the General Statutes
of North Carolina. As such, supervisors
and districts have a responsibility to
the people of our county and district.
District supervisors are your elected
representatives to coordinate the var
ious aspects of this program.
The response' from the eligible vot
ers in the county was quite gratifying
to the supervisors, and they wish to
express appreciation to all who partici
pated.
ville. He attended Campbell College
and N. C. State University, joined
Burlington in 1959 and transferred to
Franklinton in 1962 as weave room
supervisor. He also is active in the
Franklinton Baptist Church, the Lions
Club, and is married.
The promotions are effective
January 1, 1969.
On The Corner
Saturday
Members of the Louisburg Rescue
Service will be stationed on the corner
of W. Nash Street and Main Street all
day Saturday to accept donations to
U9e for the purchase of a new emer
gency service vehicle.
A spokesman for the Service said
that a Rescue vehicle will be parked
nearby and a table set up and urged
the public to help in this drive to
obtain a modem vehicle to replace one
which has been used for about ten
years.
JOSEPH HART, JR.
Receives
Ph. Beta
Kappa Key
Joseph Jones Hart, Jr. of Youngs
ville, N. C. was among the ninety
University of North Carolina students
who were tapped into Phi Beta Kappa,
the nation's highest scholastic honor
ary fraternity.
He, with the other initiates, re
ceived his gold key and certificate in a
special ceremony on the Chapel Hill
campus Tuesday afternoon. Fifty-six
of the ninety were North Carolina
students, and these Initiates represent
less than one percent of a campus
enrollment of 15,500.
Joseph was a 1964 graduate of
Youngsville High School, a 1966 grad
uate of Louisburg College, and is an
accounting major at U.N.C. He is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Hart, Sr.
of Youngsville, N. C.
which would fall three miles short of
reaching the Vance County line, at
$633,000 plus an#engineering cost of
?567,000 and the cost of rights-of-way.
The bid by Lovin exceeded the
$700,000 estimated by Adkins and
would leave only $60,000 for acquisi
tion of rights-of-way. The figure for
this has never been announced. Since
the bid was not approved, it was
obviously more than the funds alloted
and, if normal procedure is followed,
the project will be readvertised for
bids.
Two other projects were not ap
proved, fensing and development of
additional right-of-way in McDowell
Burke Iredell counties and improve
ments to .092 miles in Bertie County.
Neither of these two projects ap
proached the size of the Franklin
improvement. <
Of the 42 projects approved Friday
by the Commission, Franklin's was the
fourteenth in size. The award was the
largest single such awarding in the
Commission's history. It called for the
construction of more than 334 miles
of roads across the state and carried
the total awards for the year to nearly
$40 million.
A year ago, tne Highway Commis
sion closed out its year with a double
letting totaling some $42-million, but
in that situation sealed bids- were
opened on days two weeks apart in
November and December. The first
award came to some $18-million, the
second to some $24-million a year ago.
In this year's record $31.8-million
letting, sealed bids were opened on
only one day, November 26.
Commenting on the giant letting,
Highway Commission Chairman, J. M.
Hunt, Jr. said: "This is a fitting way to
close out another good year for the
Highway Commission. I feel that it is a
tribute to the hard work "of the 14
members of the Commission and our
professional staff."
Taking note of the fact that the
State had awarded contracts with a
value approaching $140-million for the
second consecutive year in spite of
slowdowns and freezes in the Federal
aid program, Hunt said: "This again
shows the foresight of Governor Dan
Moore in proposing the $300-million
road bond issue. I don't know what we
would have done without that addi
tional money."
Hunt noted that with Federal-aid
funds frozen now, the State was still
able to award a record amount of
highway construction.
"This letting has only bond funds.
State funds, and funds from the Appa
lachian Program in it."
Official Board
The newly organized Board of County Commissioners is shown above following swearing in ceremonies held earlier this
month. Pictured left to right, are: E. M. Sykes. John W. House, newest member of the Board. Chairman George H. Harris, Vice
Chairman Brooks W. Young and Norwood E. Faulkner. The Board inspected the county courtlTouse renovation project
Wednesday and delayed acceptance of the building. Staff photo by Clint Fuller.
Courthouse Project Acceptance Is
Delayed By Board Of Commissioners
The Board of County Commission
ers delayed acceptance of the newly
renovated courthouse here Wednesday.
Meeting in special session to inspect
the $200,000 project, the Board made
no official explanation of its actions.
Reliable reports, however, reveal
there exists some differences between
the contractor and the Board on se
veral minor repairs. One report says
that water seeping into the boiler
room during the time the building was
under construction was a major reason
for the delay. There was apparently no
provisions in the original contract for
any work in the basement where the
new boiler is located. Marks and un
painted areas inside the building were
listed as some of the things still needed
to be corrected. One report said that
some cracks had appeared beneath
some windows in the new wings.
One Commissioner said this morn
ing that he doubts the courthouse will
be occupied by the county offices
until after Christmas. It has been
expected that the project would be
conpleted and that all offices would
be moved back to the courthouse this
week.
There is also a report that some
floor tile is missing or not properly
If Recommendations Followed
County Could Get Sales, Income Tax
Any way you look at it, the years
ahead are sure to hold a secret pocket
of more and more taxes for the aver
age citizen. As the population grows
and the demand for more services
leaps somebody is going to have to pay
the bill. That somebody is the tax
payer.
The 1967 General Assembly estab
Lions Hold
Christmas
Meeting J
The Louisburg Lions Club staged its
annual Christmas party here Tuesday
night with a host of visitors and wives
attending. Dr.ttmos Abrams, Editor
of the North Carolina Education Asso
ciation magazine*1 was the principal
speaker.
Dr. Abrams, noted speaker and
humorist, was introduced by Warren
Smith, Superintendent of Franklin
County Schools and a Imember of the
locai Lions Club.
After entertaining the group with
his humorous stories, Or. Abrams clos
ed his address on a serious note.
"Santa Claus," he said "can bring us
unity, rest and quiet. We have con
quered all nature except human na
ture. We must be our brother's keeper
or his killer and we surely need no
further catastrophe among men".
"Thus to make our lives Juller and
more meaningful," he added, "So as to
avoid catastrophe, we need to stop,
join hands and hearts and search for
that which is good, truthful and beaut
iful."
Ladies in attendance were present
ed with gifts of wooden candle holders
and W. J. Shearin was honored for his
26 years of perfect attendance. Shea
rin, a charter member of the club, was
presented a pin commemorating his
achievement.
lished a Tax Study Commission which
filed its report this week. It calls for
far reaching changes in some tax pro
cedures and lists several new sources
from which additional revenue might
be squeezed. ttr
If the incoming General, Assembly
should approve the Commission's
recommendations, Franklin County
and North Carolina could see a local
option one-cent sales tax in the coun
ties; county income tax: and a levy on
motor vehicle licenses. Counties might
also see a halt put on increased pro
perty tax levies. In some cases, if the
recommendations are followed, there
could be a reduction in property taxes.
The Commission's report lists
Franklin County as receiving addi
tional revenue from a one-cent sales
tax of $173,000 annually. Income tax
from the county would bring in
$49,173, according to the report. No
explanation of just where these figures^
come from or how Franklinton, with a
smaller population, exceeds Louisburg
in income from both sales and income
taxes was given. The report lists Frank
linton as being in line to receive
$10,998 in sales tax and $3,120 in
income tax revenue. Louisburg would
get $10,153 in sales tax revenue and
$2,881 in income tax. Franklinton
would receive $2,140 >n motor vehicle
license revenue while Louisburg would
receive $3,608.
Bunn would receive $636 in sales
tax, $180 income tax and $500 from
MVLR. Youngsville would get $2,819
in LOST, $800 income tax and$784 in
MVLR.
The Commission would leave the
option of taxing to the Board of
County Commissioners, who could do
it alone, call a referendum or be
petitioned by 15 percent of citizens
voting in the last election for Gover
nor.
The lengthy report makes reference
to the danger of continued increases
on property taxes and recommends
that all new taxes be collected by the
state and passed back to the counties
and municipalities.
The Commission's recommenda
tions are, of course, subject to action
by the General Assembly, which it has
been said will have as its greatest
problem this term, the problem of
money. _/
installed.
Officials of Carolina Telephone
Company from Henderson met with
the Board to discuss telephone needs
in the courthouse. At present there are
no telephones installed, which would
probably necessitate a delay in oc
cupying the building. The contractor.
J. M. Thompson Company of Raleigh,
took possession of the keys to the
building Wednesday, following the re
fusal of the Board to accept the
building.
One member of the Board said he
was fearful that the minor repairs still
needed would not be done once the
building was accepted and occupied.
, In other actions, the Board ac
cepted a plan from C. T. Dean, Jr.,
county extension chairman, calling for
a?2.000 sq. ft. addition to the present
agricultural building. The Board kept
the plans for further study.
The Board also met with officials of
Franklinton Development on the fi
nancing of a water line to the site of
the Durham Hosiery plant to be lo
cated at Franklinton. .
Commands
Aircraft Carrier
Naval Captain William B. Barrow,
Jr., a native of Louisburg. will assume
"Command of the United States Air
craft Carrier, the USS Bennington
(VCS-20), Friday, December 20, ac
cording to information contained in
invitations sent friends here. Barrow,
son of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. B.
Barrow, Sr., is a 1938 graduate of W.
R. Mills High School here.
Barrow will succeed Capt. Daniel J.
Murphy as ship's chief officer in cere
monies to be held at the Long Beach
(California) Naval Shipyard.
Barrow, whose parents spent se
veral years in Pago Pago, Tutilla,
Samoan Islands, is the grandson of the
J. J. Barrow, who was Clerk of Su
perior Court here for many years.
Welfare Lists Ten More Needy Cases
The Franklin County Welfare De
partment has issued its second list of
needy cases for the Christmas season.
The Department has announced that
someone will be on hand at the local
office from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. weekdays
to handle inquiries about these needy
families^
The latest list of ten includes:
1. Two disabled sisters in their late
fifties live together. One has had a
stroke and the other is feebleminded.
2. Woman in her thirties whose
husband deserted years ago- has mul
tiple sclerosis and is cared for by her
elderly mother and father. Anything,
such as magazines which would help
pass the long hours would be appre
dated.
3. Two sisters in their eighties living
alone would like to be remembered.
4. Sweet little disabled lady, age 62,
lives alone and loves company.
5. Woman has two children - boy ??
16 and girl 11. Father just recently
died.
6. Woman has recently undergone
surgery and has been unable to return
to work. There are two daughters in
the home ages 15 and 12.
7. Father is going to Duke Hospital
for treatment and is unable to work at
present time. He and his wife have five
children in the home - boys 10,* 9, 5;
girls 8 and 3.
8. Woman's husband recently de
serted and she is looking for work but
has no income at the present time. Her
two children, a boy 16 and girl 9. as
well as a nine year old grandson live in
the home.
9. Woman's only work is baby
sitting. She has recently moved to
North Carolina and is ineligible for any
financial assistance. She has one 8 year
old daughter.
10. Young couple has three
children. Father is unemployed, there
fore, is not eligible for public assis
tance. They are unable to provide
Christmas for daughter 5, son 3, and
son 1W years. Extremely needy.