THE County TIMES-NEWS
Northampton County's Only Advertising and News Medium
Vol. 82 No. 4
THE ROANOKE-CHOWAN TIMES — Established 1892
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1973
☆ THE NORTHAMPTON COUNTY NEWS — Established 1926
lOc Per Copy Rich Square, N. C.
28 Pages
Home Agent, Mrs, Jenkins
Resigns Effective Feb, 7
Jackson, Nortlj Carolina
January 1,1973
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Dear Board Members:
It is with mixed emotions that I ask you to accept my
resignation as Home Economics Extension Agent of North
ampton County effective as of February 1, 1973.
The seven years I have spent working with the people of
Northampton County through the Extension Service will be
memorable years. 1 feel that my life has been enriched many
times over. The opportunity I have had to share my life with
the youth in each individual community is the most beautiful
part of those seven years. The cooperation, enthusiasm and
genuine interest of volunteer leaders, parents and boys and
girls all over the county have given me an inspiration I will
never forget.
Let me say a special “thank you’’ for the interest, support
and cooperation that you, as Commissioners, display in the
Extension program. You are the giant link in the chain that is
so vital toward making the program a success and your
support in this county is very evident.
I cannot forget the local Extension Staff in this county. I
have had the privilege of working with both Home Economics
and Agricultural Extension agents who were most cooperative
and w ho always placed the program first. The secretaries with
whom I have had the opportunity to work with cannot be
surpassed any place. I cannot resist mentioning the name of
Miss .Mildred Joyner with whom I have worked with very
closely. To have worked with B. H. Harrell as County
Extension Chairman is an outstanding experience within
itself, for there is not a stronger chairman any place.
As 1 plan to leave this work, I want to express my
appreciation to everyone I have worked with on the local,
county and state level for giving me the many opportunities I
have had the privilege of enjoying.
Very sincerely yours,
(Mrs.) Mildred C. Jenkins
Home Economics Extension Agent
Jackson Council Acts
On Parking Problems
JACKSON — Mrs. Mildred
Jenkins, a seven-year veteran
as Noi'thampton County Home
Economics Extension Agent
and 4-H coordinator, has
resigned her position effective
February 1.
Although her letter of
resignation to the Board of
County Commissioners was
dated January 1 and delivered
there shortly after,
announcement of the action
was not made until Friday
(January 19) by County
Auditor Tim Ellen.
Her letter is reprinted
below.
The daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Freeland M. Copeland of
Hertford was raised in a
Quaker family with two
brothers and a foster sister.
She is married to Clyde
Jenkins of Potecasi and they
have two children, Connie who
is a physical therapist at
Forsyth Memorial Hospital in
Winston-Salem and Arthur,
who is a student at North
Carolina State University in
Raleigh.
r ^
JACKSON — A town which
appears to be courting death
with every third or fourth
building on one side of the
main street either closed or
almost falling down is now
facing parking problems.
The problem of the
unsightly and somewhat
unsafe derelict buildings
came up in Octobunrf 1971 at
action to have them removed
and asked the county
commissioners for assistance.
The commissioners were
contacted but no action was
ever taken.
Members of the town
council have voted to place
two hour parking signs from
the Courthouse to the block in
front of the Red and White
Grocery. Parking also will be
limited in the parking lot
across from D. L. Boone & Son
grocery.
Already parking behind the
courthouse has reached
capacity. The only other
public parking is behind the
Health Department and it is
also filled.
Councilman Jimmy Boone
said he was not blaming the
(See ACTS, Page 12)
MRS. MILDRED JENKINS, Northampton
County Home Economics Extension agent and 4-H
coordinator, talks with County Accountant Tim
Ellen after submitting her resignation after seven
years on the job. Mrs. Jenkins plans to return to
home duties and helping her husband. Her
resignation will be effective February 1.
Mother, 2 Children
Die In Home Blaze
GUMBERRY — A mother
and her two children were
burned to death in a fire which
leveled their home just east of
Gumberry last Friday
morning.
Margaret Kee and her.
children Margaret Marie, 4,
and Eugene W., 3 died of
inhalation as a result of the
fire that broke out in their
four-room frame dwelling on
SR 1314 one-half mile from N.
C. 195.
According to Fire Chief S.
Y. Daniel, the fire was caused
by a possible gas heater
explosion, however, exact
cause has not been
determined.
According to Samuel
Buffaloe, who lived in the
First Corn Club
President Retires
By JEANETTE DAVIS
Staff Writer
MENOLA — It is unusual to
find anyone today who has a
first credited to their list of
accomplishments, but Henry
T. Brown has one — on a
national level. He was the first
president of the 4-H Club when
it was organized in 1911.
“It wasn’t known as the 4-H
Club then; it was the Corn
Club. We had 11 members and
just workd with corn. Then the
girls came in and brought
tomatoes. My cousin. Dr. T. E.
Brown, was Hertford County
Extension Agent and helped
us organize,” Brown said.
Brown was born in 1894, son of
May Dilday and Jesse Thomas
Brown, on land in Menola
which belonged to his
ancestors since colonization.
His sister. Miss Deborah
Brown, a well-known-and
much loved teacher in Ahoskie
for many years, still lives in
the old 1797 homeplace. When
was
present
Church.
at N.
Mi
i
UPDATING THE TAX BOOKS with over 90 per
cent of Northampton's $1,174,601.11 tax levy now
paid are Tax Collector Elizabeth G. Hughes, right,
and Tax Clerk Judy L. Strickland. Taxes paid in
January have a two per cent penalty added and
then it adds up to three-fourths of one per cent per
month, or an annual total for the first year of IOV4
per cent and nine per cent per year thereafter.
Brown married Margaret Lee
Jones, a Clayton school
teacher, he built his present
home less than a mile away
and his entire life has been
spent in those two houses.
Brown was first educated at
Menola Academy, the only
school in Hertford (bounty with
three teachers in 1899 and it
located next to the
Menola Baptist
This building was
burned and a new one was
erected in 1895 one-half mile
down the road. The new school
was later demolished and the
community building was
erected on the site in 1933.
He continued his education
C. State College and was
a classmate of the late
Governor Kerr Scott. Becuase
of his association with the late
governor. Brown was invited
to attend Scott’s inauguration.
“Scott was a man with a
mind of his own in school. He
was usually right and showed
leadership potential even
then. He did a lot for this state,
especially the farmer,”
Brown said of his former
classmate.
Doing something
farmer has been a
Brown too. When he
school, he farmed for a while
and then went to work with
Production Credit Association
in 1932. He continued his own
farming interests combined
with being an inspector for
PCA. From inspector he
moved to assistant secretary
treasurer and on to secretary-
treasuer for the association
before retiring from their
services.
He has also been associated
the Agricultural
Stabilization and
Conservation Service for more
(See CLUB, Page 12)
At Public Hearing
VEPCO Rate Hike
Is Not Protested
RALEIGH — No one from
the Roanoke-Chowan was
among the seven public
witnesses who protested a
proposed 12 per cent rate
increase by Virginia Electric
and Power Co. at a hearing
here Tuesday, although two R-
C counties are filing written
protests.
The Bertie County Board of
Commissions and Board of
Education have both filed
written protests that the 12 per
cent Vepco rate increase is
excessive. The Northampton
County Tax Department is
preparing a similar protest.
As far as could be
determined Wednesday,
neither Hertford and Gates
counties have taken a
position on the proposed
increase. Hertford County
Manager E. G. Johnson said
he knew of the hearing but
that no one from county
government had received any
instructions to represent it at
the hearing.
The hearing was conducted
by the State Utilities
Commission.
The higher rates being
sought by Vepco are slightly
above those now in effect in
Virginia and a little
lower than those in West
Virginia, states also served by
the utility.
This rate differential for
North Carolina is necessary,
Vepco maintains, because a
rate of return sufficient for its
Virginia operations would not
be suffiecint here.
1. H. Hilliard of Weldon,
former director of special
projects for Choanoke Area
Development Association in
Murfreesboro, was one of the
seven public witnesses heard
Tuesday. Hilliard represented
the ry9t "'>«l Association for
thd Advancement of cblored
People. Hilliard,
characterized the proposed
hike as a “double burden”
because it would not only
result in higher power bills for
individuals, but a tax increase
by local governments to cover
their part of the hike.
The hike would be an
excessive burden on poor
people in Northeastern North
Carolina according to
Hilliard.
Other public witnesses said
the proposed $2.5 million
increase would be a heavy
burden on local governments
and people on fixed incomes
such as Social Security. For
the average individual Vepco
customer the monthly power
bill would be increased by
$2.38 from $16.62 to $19.
John M. Oliver, director of
the Halifax County
Developement Commission,
said the higher rates would
cause his area to lose its
competitive edge in attracting
new businesses.
“It doesn’t take much
imagination,” Oliver said, “to
.see what such a setup would
do to northeastern North
.See VEPCO, Page 12)
Gaston Mayor Against
VEPCO Rate Increase
GASTON — Mayor Firman
C, Myrick of Gaston last
Saturday termed the Virginia
Electric and Power
Company’s proposed rate
increase “unfair” and “out of
reason.”
In a letter to Marvin R.
Wooten, chairman of the
North Carolina Utilities
Commission, Mayor Myrick
said, he, the town board and
citizens are “much concerned
about the new rate structure
that Vepco will bring before
the commission Tuesday.
Sales Event Set Tonight
In Weldon
wV
'•*/
iji: WELDON — “Moonlight Madness,” a
g three-hour sale, is being staged tonight
(Thursday) by several Weldon merchants,
iv Hours are from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Par-
ticipating stores will be closed from 6 p.m.
% to 7 p.m. to get ready for the night’s event.
§: Stores participating in “Moonlight
Madness” include Freid’s, Inc., Farber &
i Josephson, L. Kittner’s Department Store,
Bone’s Jewelers, Inc., H. & B. Discount
:j:i Store, The Budget Fair and Rose’s.
11 Each store will feature merchandise at
marked down prices for the event. Ad-
% vertisements from some of the par-
ticipating stn:es listing special prices are
^ displayed in this' issue of the iimes-ivews.
For State Legislature
for the
goal of
finished
with
same house but was out of the
house when the fire broke out,
said he saw the blaze and
rushed back inside in an
attempt to free the occupants.
He and another occupant,
who also spotted the blaze,
were overcome by smoke and
were forced out of the house
before the woman and her
children could be saved.
Buffaloe said when he
entered the house from the
rear, flames had engulfed the
front portion of the dwelling
where the three were sleeping.
He indicated that the fire
originated in the rafters of the
home.
Katherine Boone, mother of
the woman burned, also lived
in the house, but she was away
from the home working when
the fire broke out.
Firemen from the Seaboard
Volunteer Fire Department
arrived on the scene about
7:30, but the roof of the house
had already fallen.
(See DIE, Page 12)
Fountain For
Blood Donor
Tax Deduction
WASHINGTON, D. C. -
Concerned about recurrent
shortages of blood for trans
fusions in some parts of the
nation. Congressman L. H.
Fountain said that he has
joined with others in co
sponsoring a bill to give a $25
tax deduction for blood
donations to non-profit blood
banks.
“At the present time, the
Internal Revenue Service
recognizes blood donations as
a ‘service,’ which is not
deductible, rather than as
‘property,’ which is
deductible,” Congressman
Fountain said.
He continued, “But, this bill
would amend the Internal
Revenue Code so as to change
this situation, encouraging
more people to support non
profit blood banks and the
work in this area by such
agencies as the Red Cross.
Congressman Fountain
pointed out, “Blood is a form
of medicine which, when
needed, just must be
available.”
“Hopefully, this bill, if
finally enacted into law, will
greatly stimulate blood
(See TAX, Page 12)
Week Reviewed,
Plans Are Laid
AHOSKIE - “With the
Policy Committee of the
House of Representatives in
Raleigh last week finding
support of more than 90 per
cent for a resolution to have
annual sessions it looks like
we will see approval this
year.” These are the words of
Bertie’s State Sen. J. J.
(Monk) Harrington, a long
time advocate for annual
sessions.
“There are many strong
reasons for supporting annual
sessions,” the senator said.
“Perhaps the best one is in the
area of budget. With annual
sessions in force we could
begin to get away from two-
year budget moves. Although
it would be general practice to
consider a two-year budget
proposal, we would have at the
start of the second year the
chance to reconsider our
actions of the session before.
“With the present procedure
we have no idea of what next
year will bring. A standard
practice is to do some padding
and ask for a tot of extra
money. However things go, it
gets spent. Under the annual
session if the present picture
is for a good year then we can
pass a one year budget which
will be good and sound. When
the next year comes along we
will go to Raleigh with the
knowledge of how things are
going and then make the
adjustments accordingly. If
it’s a bad year for the
economy and too much money
was asked for then we can cut.
If it was a good year we can
give the people what they
asked for and maybe even
some more. This is sound
business.”
There was some criticism
on annual sessions creating
too many laws.
“Well, this is all wrong,”
Senator Harrington said. “If
too many laws (some not so
good) were passed it was
because near the end of the
long sessions we have a rush
of legislation and in some
cases some laws get through
without proper time to study
and debate. It’s difficult to put
someone off for two years but
it will not be that hard to do to
put them off till next year.”
On the tax cut suggestions
which are going around
Raleigh now the Lewiston
senator said that he is “very
much opposed to a cut in the
tax on soft drinks.”
He said, “Even if we were to
cut it by one cent how would it
be realized by anyone except
maybe a big chain store
buyer. A lot of machines are
set up to accept 15 cents or 20
cents. I do not believe we
would ever see a machine
accepting 14 cents or 19
cents.”
Other Thoughts
Representative Roberts
Jernigan of Ahoskie said that
this session had all the
makings of being one of the
most progressive because,
“We are running almost a
month ahead of ourselves as
compared to the last general
assembly sessions. Everyone
is in his place now and the
(See, PLANS, Page 12)
“It seems to us that the
increases that Vepco will
request from municipalities is
way out of line and quite
unfair. We know that
municipalities in the past have
enjoyed a favored status with
power companies, but Vepco
wilt request an increase that
seems out of reason and also
coming all, at one time.”
A Vepco representative
appeared before the town
board pointing out that the
(See MAYOR, Page 12)
Tim Ellen
Elected
Secretary
ROCKY MOUNT County
Accountant Tim Ellen has
been elected to the position of
secretary of the policy board
of the centrad«..ii;\„,.ii-
planning tonlniislsioii. ’’i’he
commission is a criminal
justice division of the Region
L Council of Governments.
Other officers elected to the
board at the Wednesday
(January 17) meeting
included Jeff Cobb, Nash
County Commissioner,
chairman of the board; Chief
Drewery Beal, Roanoke
Rapids Police Chief, vice-
chairman; and Bob Sheford,
Wilson County Manager,
treasurer.
Following the election Cobb
accepted the chair and
applauded the efforts of Dave
Taylor, City Manager of
Tarboro, the outgoing
chairman of the board policy.
“While under his leadership
the past two years the Region
has received over $500,000 in
grant funds from the Law
Enforcement Assistance
Administration,” Cobb said.
Bank Of Northampton
Merger Final Feb. 1
JACKSON — The Bank of Northampton will officially
become the Peoples Bank and Trust Company, Jackson office,
February I, according to William II. Stanley, president of
Peoples Bank.
The merger proposal was previously approved by
directors of both banks and by shareholders of the Bank of
Northampton August 29 of last year. State and federal
regulatory agencies then awarded their approvals which
consurnated the merger agreement.
Merger with the Bank of Northampton will bring the assets
of Peoples Bank to approximately $139 million, an increase of
$4.8 milllion.
Peoples Bank now has 34 offices in 20 North Carolina
communities. Other local branches include locations in
Scotland .Neck and Enfield.
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THIS SCATTERED LUMBER WAS HOME for two horses until a small
''twister'' touched down briefly in Rich Square during the severe weather
last Friday afternoon. The stable, owned by Dr. B. E. Stephenson, a Rich
Square physician, was located on Bryamtown Road. The two horses were not
injured so it is assumed they were outside in the corral when the wind
struck. Other minor damage was repo rted in the area, including a downed
antenna and the uprooting of a tree. Tuesday, when this picture was taken
workmen were busy cleaning up the damage.