THE "'asr TIMES-NEWS
Northampton County's Only Advertising and News Medium
Vol. 82 No. 49
THE ROANOKE-CHOWAN TIMES — EstabHshed 1892
THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 1973
☆ THE NORTHAMPTON COUNTY NEWS — Established 1926
10c Per Copy Rich Square, N. C.
44 Pages
Body Found By Hunter
Woman's Body
Still Unidentified
RICH SQUARE — The
identity of a woman’s body
found Saturday buried in a
shallow grave near here is still
unknown.
State Bureau of
Investigation officials and
Northampton sheriff’s
deputies are seeking identity
of the woman who was
reportedly shot between the
eyes.
Pathologists at North
Carolina Memorial Hospital in
Chapel Hill list the Negro
woman’s age between 20 and
40. She was about 5-foot-6 and
weighed about 130 pounds.
Sheriff Frank Outland
reported the body was
discovered by a hunter in a
shallow grave five miles south
of Rich Square 300 yards off
US 258.
Outland said his department
has no report of a missing
person meeting the
description of the body found
by Billy Jenkins of Nashville,
a member of the Jones Hill
Hunt Club.
State Bureau of
Investigation chief Charles
Dunn said the woman’s body
was clad in a white blouse,
blue, bell-bottom trousers and
buckle shoes.
Dunn said officers found in
the grave a pair of round
earrings with a heart-shaped
design and a a white gold
wedding band with initials H.
G. E. inscribed inside.
Dunn said the SBI is
attempting to identify the
woman by fingerprints.
Arrears Payment
Request Tabled
J.ACKSON — A request for
$3,000 in back payments to the
Tri-County Airport Authority
from Northampton County
was tabled indefinitely
Monday.
The authority is seeking
payment of funds dating back
as late as 1968.
Northampton has been
contributing $333.33 annually
to the airport that serves
Northampton, Hertford and
Bertie counties.
A letter from the authority
contends the county should’ve
been paying $1,000 annually
instead of the $333.33 annual
payment.
County Manager Tim Ellen
said the county has never
received an official bill
requesting payment of the
funds.
Ellen speculated some
confusion may have developed
cM^rning the amount since it
'>t®tei!ic.liy screed that each
ttfe three coqnties wo'JlH
of *1,000
and later that figure
apparently was changed to
$1,000 each per year.
Wilson Bridgers, register of
deeds, searched the minute
books and found no reference
to the $1,000 per year payment
request by the airport
authority.
Tilghman Cooley of
Jackson, an authority
member, addressed a letter to
the county seeking payment of
the $3,000 in arrears.
Ellen produced a 1968 letter
from the authority which
stated the county’s share
would be $1,000 per year, but
the matter was tabled on a
motion by W. W. Grant of
Gaston.
Split Vote As 6-5
ABC Composite Board
Defies State Order
JACKSON — The Northampton Composite
ABC Board voted 6-5 Monday not to abide by a
recent order of the State ABC Board that it lower
the county chairm'an’s salary and order him not to
carry out the duties of a county supervisor.
The vote was taken in a special executive
session Monday following an order dated Nov. 21
from Dr. L. C. Holshouser, chairman of the state
board.
Burgwyn, who is
represented in the matter by
Raleigh attorney George R.
Ragsdale, contends he is not
holding but one office — that
^of county ABC Board
'chairman. Burgwyn has
repeatedly refushed to give up
the post unless asked to by the
composite board which to date
has supported the chairman in
his fight.
Burgwyn is paid an annual
salary of $6,250 the highest
paid a county board chairman
in the state ABC system. He
states he is saving the county
money that would normally
come out of ABC profits to pay
the salary of a supervisor, a
The county board was given
20 days to comply with the
order that Bart R. Burgwyn of
Jackson, chairman of the
county ABC board, cease to
execute duties of a system
supervisor and that his salary
be decreased commensurate
with the salary paid board
chairmen in comparable size
systems.
The order grew out of a
controversy that has been
brewing for months. The state
has charged Burgwyn with
double office holding in that he
is chairman of the board and
carries out duties that would
normally be handled by a
county supervisor.
salary that would amount to
about $9,000 he said.
Members of the composite
board, composed of the county
commissioners, school board
members and a
representative of the Health
Department, were called to
the special meeting by county
attorney Felton Turner, who
explained the status of the
order to the board in public
session.
Turner said the board was
faced with three alternatives.
It could do nothing about the
order and see what action the
state board takes next, it could
follow the order or it could
seek a judicial review under
the laws of the state.
Turner contended the order
by the state board is not valid
since it did not result from any
public hearing. He further
noted the state has no
authority to tell the composite
board to tell the county ABC
Board how to run its business
since that is not one of the
legal responsibilities of the
larger county board.
HOLIDAY CLOWN — Pillow stuffed overalls, a
mop hair-do, a poke and a little clown make-up
transformed Kevin Brady into a Christmas clown
for Saturday’s holiday parade in the county seat.
Kevin is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Brady of
Jackson.
52.9 Cents Is Highest
Studies Presented
N'ampton Gas Prices
Continue To Rise
ROANOKE RAPIDS —
Economic studies of
Northampton and Halifax
counties were presented to bi
county industrial and
commer£ial leaders at a
dinner her .v-Thur'^'tey. night.
Former Gov. Bob Scott and
Virginia Electric & Power Co.
boat'd chairman John M.
McGurn addressed the
leaders on the current energy
shortage.
Jasper Eley of Jackson,
chairman of the Northampton
County Board of
Commissioners, and Forest
Shearin of. Scotland Neck,
chairman of the Halifax
Development Commission,
accepted leather-bound copies
'’if ' *;i'' .updated  .''r'' •.
studies on behalf of heir
respective counties.
The studies, compiled by
Vepco, contain 1973 data that
will be of interest to industrial
concerns evaluating the
feasibility of locating in the
two counties.
Former Gov. Scot, now
executive vice president of the
North Carolina Agribusiness
Council, prefers to label the
energy shortage a “crunch”,
not a crisis. j
■ tU. ■. the t'C^-asoi:.
for curren! n'e. slidreages can
be attributed to the
accomplishments of
extremists in the areas of
environmental control and in
over development.
(See ECONOMIC. Pgae 3)
Gasoline prices in
Northampton are up as high
as 52.9 cents per gallon, a
Wednesday spot survey of
county station indicated.
The lowest gas price in the
county was at a Jackson Gulf
station where regular is still
selling for 41.3 cents per
gallon.
« T1 q.mc"' ' x'y'T.'iv? ga ir •
tne I'ounty o, at .Sheii siciions
where the premium orand is
selling for 52.9.
Indications from service
station owners are that prices
will be driven even higher as
the demand for gas increases
and the supply decreases.
Most stations in the county
had at least some petro in
their tanks Wednesday
afternoon, but most station
owners are carefully watching
the fuel gauge and are limiting
quantities.
The majority of stations
surveyed are showing
favoritism to regular station
, .,-
' Flythe's Shell in V;'iteAsi vj
limiting its regular customers
to $3 purchases while less
mercy is being shown non
regulars who can buy only a
dollar’s worth.
Lee’s Exxon in Woodland
hasn’t been out of gas because
the station owner there is
selling only to regular
customers and he is watching
his station quotas.
Whitltjy’s Seryife Station in
Wrcci^-mn, winch v»sutiliy ^Hs
about .5(X' gallons of gas a day,
(See GAS, Page 3)
He said, however, the
matter of the salary is a
concern of the composite
board and the full board could
act on that part of the order.
Burgwyn’s salary as
chairman would amount to
about $100 per month if he
were paid in accordance with
board chairmen in counties
with a similar size programs.
Turner reviewed the
background of the issue that
has been in a state of contest
since a May 25 letter to county
commission chairman Jasper
Eley informed him of
Burgwyn’s alleged double
office holding.
Turner stated that since the
Northampton case has come
up the state board has drafted
new regulations governing
local ABC units. One of the
regulations states that no
member of the county board
can serve as county
supervisor.
“It forces two offices where
two offices are not
necessary,” Turner observed.
He continued explaining
that beginning Feb. 2
members of county boards of
commissioners can be
appointed to serve as county
managers, a situation he
paralled with the relationship
of the ABC board with its
supervisor. Turner noted the
regulation about county
managers will be a matter of
legislative law. State ABC
Board regulations are not
points of law.
Turner said the law for
county managers will “pull
the teeth from the ABC
Board’s conflict of interest
clause.”
County Manager Tim Ellen,
who was the only non*"'
composite board member
allowed to stay during the
executive sessirn in which thp
letter to
informing i'/Je
of the composite
follow the Nov. 21 order.
Energy Official Named
Commissioners Wiii Participate
in Paving At Woodiand Project
JACKSON — County
commissioners Monday
agreed to pay a portion of
street paving costs for the
proposed Woodland housing
project.
Leigh Tinsley, director of
the three-county Roanoke-
Cliowan Housing Authority,
and A1 Vickery, Atlanta
architect employed by the
authority, appeared before the
board seeking the $7,800 in
paving funds.
MS. Tinsley, who stated no
A 10-foot strip 1,050 feet long
will be paved by the county.
Funds will come from the next
fiscal budget.
Ms. Tinsley stated the
projects at Woodland and
Gaston, each containing 50
units of low rent housing,
should be complete in 12 to 15
months. The authority is
seeking an option on the
Woodland land now and it
already holds on option on
the 13-acre parcel in Gaston.
The housing director
since that project will be
situated inside the corporate
limits.
All interior streets in' the
housing projects will be paid
for with housing authority
funds.
In addition to the units at
Woodland, a 1,128 square foot
community facility building
will be constructed on the site.
At Gaston a 3,444 square foot
administration — community
building will be built. Gaston
Jackson to his second term as
county board chairman and
reelected John Henry
Liverman of Woodland as vice
chairman.
County Manager Tim Ellen
county
Felton
was reappointed
accountant and
Turner, Jackson lawyer, was
renamed county attorney.
(See PROJECT, Page 5)
JACKSON — Northampton
County Civil Preparedness
Coordinator George Harris
will serve as local agent for
the governor’s energy crisis
panel.
Harris, who serves in a dual
capacity as county economic
planner, will assist persons
who cannot obtain fuel this
winter. He will handle
hardship cases for people
unable to find a fuel supplier.
Persons contacting Harris
will be asked to explain their
problem, give the name of
their supplier, the reason he
gives for not supplying, the
size of the home tank, amount
of oil on hand and a list of
dealers contacted.
Businesses or industrial
firms seeking assistance will
be asked similar questions.
If Harris is unable to locate
a supplier, requests classed as
hardship cases will be
forwarded to proper
authorities in Raleigh.
Suppliers taking on new
customers (such as those
moving into the area) will
be given a form to fill out to
allotments can be increased to
cover the added customer.
Harris stated that
customers who have switched
dealers several times, leaving
overdue bills, will not be
considered hardship cases.
He has been instructed to
request business and industry
to switch to another fuel
(See OFFICIAL, Page 3)
Social Services Building Dedicated
JACKSON — Two hundred
persons attended the official
dedication of the Social
will serve as headquarters for sej-yices Building north of
paving would be requested of announced that the county will all projects developed by the Sunday
the county, at the Gaston
project, stated the authority
cannot use federal funds for
paving when it doesn’t own
property on both sides of a
right-of-way.
realize $750 a year in
payments in lieu of taxes from
the Woodland project and
$1,500 per year on the Gaston
site. The Town of Woodland
will also receive $750 annually
Dr. Renee Westcott of
Raleigh, state director of the
Department of Social
Services, challenged the
Northampton welfare unit to
northampton chaff
Nobody wants Jackson’s old fire truck, but
nobody wants the town to sell it either.
Jackson commissioners have twice tried
to get rid of the antiquated fire engine — once
in a public auction and subsequently in a
private sale.
It seems the bids from the public sale were
all rejected, commissioners believing them
too low. The board was then approached
privately with a more attractive offer and
commissioners were willing to sell.
Jackson volunteer firemen, expressing no
desire to have the old truck, asked the town
not to discard it.
The town still holds title to it but has again
expressed interest in having the out modeled
equipment taken off its hands.
Mayor Charlie Bass says the firemen can
have it or the town’s going to sell it — once
and for all.
County Commissioner Jack Faison of
Seaboard, who professes to be no game
hunter, said Monday he has knocked off three
deer in the past two years.
Faison’s weapon is not a gun. All three
have fallen to the mighty blow of his front
bumper.
The funeral operator did not enumerate on
methods of disposal of the dead animals.
Christmas in Jackson will bear little signs
of an energy crisis.
Roanoke-Chowan Housing
Authority and similar
authorities in Roanoke Rapids
and Ahoskie.
In other action, the board: ^
—Reelected Jasper Eley of better service to the county’s
poor in an irripromptu address
delivered from the steps of the
renovated former county
home.
“Everyone says we must do
something about welfare and I
think you are in Northampton
County. We are going to hav?
a better image because of the
work that has been done
here,” the Goldsboro native
stated.
“This county can send a
message to the state and set a
good example for social
service programs. You have
the facilities here to foster
many innovative ideas.”
Dr. Westcott spoke of .the
county’s effort at housing
Social Services, Social
Security, Family Planning,
Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Security under a
single roof. She said it would
be a good model for the state
and nation.
Mrs. E. J. Burgess,
chairwoman of the
Northampton Social Services
Board, was presented a key to
the building by Jasper Eley,
chairman of the county board
of commissioners.
Mrs. Burgess recalled the
history of welfare in
Northampton, of the days
when the service was located
in crampted quarters on the
third floor of the courthouse. It
later moved to the ground
floor and then across the
street in the building it
vacated last month.
The Social Services Building
was built in 1924 as a county
home for the aged. John
Henry Liverman, county
commissioner representative
on the welfare board, alluded
to the building’s history and
noted that still it is serving the
people of the county the same
as it was when the cornerstone
was laid.
The facility was renovated
at a cost in excess of $250,000.
The project took over a year to
complete.
A reception followed Dr.
Westcott’s remarks and
formal dedication. The
building -was open for public
inspection for two hours
Sunday afternoon.
The Jackson Woman’s Club financed the
purchase of new electrified street decorations
for the county seat as well as electric candles
for the windows in county office buildings.
The street decorations, the first electric
one there, will be turned on weekends and
on the two major holidays, Christmas and
New Years. They will not burn Monday
through Thursday.
The woman’s club is attempting to
transform Jackson into a candlelight town
this holiday season by encouraging residents
to place candles in their windows as a uniform
townwide decorating scheme.
Mary Bryant of Potecasi can use any
spare furnishings, appliances and -utensile
good hearted people can donate her.
Her seven-room house was gutted by fire
last week and she was unable to retrieve any
of her personal affects.
Mrs. Bryant had lived in her house only
three months, having moved back to her
native county recently after a long stay in
Baltimore.
Members of the Woodland Fire
Department will accept donations for Mrs.
Bryant.
The parents of Dorothy Vick of Conway
have been named outstanding farm family of
the year in neighboring Hertford County.
The award was presented by the Ahoskie
Rotary Club at a meeting Monday night.
ACCEPTS KEY — County commission chairman
Jasper Eley presents the key to the new Social
Services Building to Mrs. E. J. Burgess, chair
man of the county Social Services board, in
dedication ceremonies Sunday. Looking on are
Dr. Renee Westcott, guest speaker and state
Social Services official and Jim Clark of Wood
land, county Social Services director.