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WAKRENTON, COUNTY OF WnUEN, N. C.
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 8, 1963
NUMBER 15
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Second SB I Agent
Enters Probe Of
Gilliland Slaying
A second agent of the State
Bureau of Investigation has
been assigned to assist local
law enforcement officers prob
ing the pistol slaying of War
renton attorney James D.
Gilliland.
Sheriff Jim H. Hundley said
Thursday that the two agents,
together with members of the
Warren sheriff's department,
continued week-long question
ing of unidentified persons
who might b6 able to shed
light on Gilliland's death.
The 43-year-old lawyer and
businessman was shot to
death in a weathered shack
near Macon on the night of
Oct. 28.
His wife. Mrs. Barbara
Strieks Gilliland, 34, was
charged with first degree
murder in the slaying, but
was released last Friday on
$5,000 bond. Bond was per
mitted after Assistant Dis
trict Solicitor Charles M.
White.?141,?agrPed to Mrs.
Gilliland's release.
Court officials were uncer
tain Thursday when a hearing
for Mrs. Gilliland would be
held. The hearing had prev
iously been scheduled before
Judge Julius E. Banzet in
Warren County Recorder's
Court, but was postponed
when bond for Mrs. Gilliland
was set.
"The mam purpose of the
hearing was to determine if
Mrs. Gilliland would be re
leased under bond," White
sad yesterday. "Now that she
has been released, the date
of the hearing is uncertain."
Gilliland died from a sin
gle pistol wound of the throat.
An autopsy performed in
Chapel Hill on the day fol
lowing his death determined
that his death was caused by
a .22 caliber bullet buried in
Gilliland's neck.
Two guns were found at
the scene, but a ballistic test
performed by the SB I has
failed to determine if the
death bullet was fired from
one of the guns found at the
shack.
Officers spent more than a
day 4hts week at Gilliland's
second-floor office on West
Market Street in an effort to
uncover information which
could aid investigation.
Authorities were expected
to attempt to open Gilliland's
office safe and bank safe de
posit box late Thursday.
Air Strip
Is Planne
For Lake
Gaston Lake is to have its
first air strip.
Oliver S. Davis, who owns
some three and a half miles
of shore line on the lake in
Warren County and in Vir
ginia, told the county com
missioners that he is con
structing a 2600 foot air strip
on his property at the request
of a number of persons who
have indicated interest in buy
ing shore lots from him. The
strip is long enough, he said
to accomodate large types of
planes, as planes would ap
proach from over the Water
reducing the necessary length
of the runway. :
- Davis had appeared before
the board to request that the
commissioners use their ef
forts to have the hardsurfac
ed road running from Wise to
Oakville extended to Five
Forks. He said that due to
the opening of Gaston Lake
traffic had /greatly increased
over this dirt road, which is
also traveled by school buses
and a mail carrier.
The commissioners suggest
ed that the Highway Commis
sion be requested to make a
traffic count on this road
when lake activities reopen
in the spring. They said they
felt that such a count would
improve chances of having^the
road blacktopped.
In other action, the com
missioners ordered that the
Court House be closed on
Veterans Day, November 11,
and on Thanksgiving Day, No
vember 28.
A. P. Rodwell, Jr.; Tax
Collector, reported taxes col
lected to date in the amount
of $146,712.97. Of this
amount $96,552.63 was col
lected in October.
Opposition Lacking
At Public Hearing;
Change Is Approved
No one appeared at a pub
lic hearing advertised for 3
p. m. Monday by the board
of county commissioners to
protest a change in the clas-.
sification of soned property
on Gaston Lake and the
board ordered the ' change
recommended by the Warren
County Planning Board be put
into effect
Under the board's order
piupetlj uf Dr. C. ft Wuwl'
bum of Littleton at the site
of the Eaton Ferry Bridge,
previously classified for res
idential use, has been chang
ed to use for lakeside busi
ness and a tent or trailer
camp.
Jack Harris, secretary of
the . Warren County Planning
Board, had' appeared before
the commissioners at their
October meeting to ask that
the property be reclassified.
Harris said that while the
planning board had approved
| the change in the sorting
status of this property, as a
er of routine a public
ring would have to be
before the change would
Commissioners Name
Hospital Trustees
For Six-Year Term
The number of members re
quired for the board of trus
tees of Warren General Hos
pital was changed on Monday
when Commissioner Robert
Thorne asked that the word
ing of a resolution adopted by
the Board on May 3, 1948, be
changed to read "not more
than 15 members," instead of
15 members." The amend
ment adopted by the commis
sioners at their Monday meet
ing permits a reduction in the
number of trustees.
It was also ordered by the
board that the following be
appointed as trustees to the
hospital for a term of six
years: John Kerr, Jr., H. W.
Hon, w. e. l'urrter, AMOS L.
Capps, R. H. Bright, K. L.
Traylor, R. R. Davis,- R. C.
Mitchell, James H. Limer and
H. Evans Coleman.
Dr. Robert S. Young. War
ren County Health Officer,
appeared before the board at
the afternooa: session to re
view the work of his depart
ment. He particularly stress
ed the value of the pre-natal
clinics being held at the
Health Center by residents of
Duke Hospital. He said that
the Federal Government had
passed a Dip providing 75 per
cent of the'cost of caring for
complicated cases of preg
nancy. He said that he esti
mates that $1,000 would take
care of such cases in Warren
and asked that the board ap
propriate $250 for this pur
pose during the last half of
the fiscal year. He said that
in his /opinion the appropria
tion \*ould save the county
money as the cost of caring
for deformed children could
be v^ry high. The commls
to make the
said that medi
ence has discovered a
determine whether or
certain form of retards
?uld be expected in the
by pre-niUl tests,
lltion remedied by
reatment. He
the cost of caring for
a regarded chad at $00,000.
DREWRY FIREMEN STAND BESIDE RECENTLY ACQUIRED FIRE TRUCKS
Drewry Community Club
Gets Top County Honor
Drewry's community devel
opment club has won top
honors in Warren County
competition and will repre
sent the county in district
competition sponsored by the
Capital Area Development
Association.
Drewry will compete against
top communities from Frank
lin, Granville, Harnett, John
ston, Vance and Wake Coun
ties for the annual CADA
award. District judging will
be held on Tuesday and
awards will be announced at
the annual CADA banquet at
the College Union Building at
N. C. State in Raleigh on
November 20.
Areola's community club
finished in second spot iij
county judging, while Inez
finished third and Epworth
Enterprise, fourth. Judges
for the county contest were
Mrs. Lydia Booth, home eco
nomics extension agent of
Nash County; J. W. Sanders,
Hendersoh; and Fred Manley,
district supervisor of voca
tional agriculture teachers.
During the past year
Drewry's club has purchased
and remodelled the old Drew
ry school building. The com
munity now has a community
building with large meeting
room and recreation room and
houses^ two fire trucks acquir
ed this year.
Club officers are Wilson
Fleming, president; W. A.
Pulley, vice-president; Mrs.
Eugene Wilson, secretary; C.
B. Curtis, Jr.", treasurer; and
Mrs. Ellis Fleming reporter.
The building committee is
composed of Ellis E. Flem
ing, C. B. Curtis, Jr., J. Wft
son Fleming, W. Alvis Pulley
and Vernon N. Whitemore.
Returns Home
Mr. F. B. Newell returned
home this week after spend
ing several weeks in Veterans
Hospital, Durham.
Citizen Condemns Health,
Welfare Depts., Hospital
A Warrenton man Monday
advocated that not only the
Warren County Welfare De
partment be abolished, but
that the Health Department
and the Hospital be closed in
order to give relief to tax
payers.
W. Faulk Alston, appearing
before the board of county
commissioners at their regu
lar meeting Monday to ask
that an outside person be
employed to check the opera
tion of the Welfare Depart
ment, told the commissioners
that he thought they might
as well close the Department,
the Hospital and the Health
Department. He suggested
that welfare cases be taken
care of in a county home.
Alston said that there are a
number of people on the wel
fare rolls that should not be
on them. He said that if a
person were employed to
check this list behind welfare
officials that he would save
the county thousands of dol
lars. He would, Alston said,
save many times his salary.
In reply to a question by
Chairman Capps as to wheth
ed he had appeared before
the Welfare Board as he had
been invited to do, Alston
said that he was out of town
at the time of the meeting.
Alston's stay was brief. The
commissioners took no action
upon his request.
North Warren High School Has
Contrast In Personnel, Plant
School officials studying
North Warren High School in
an effort to bring Warren
County's five high schools in
line with higher state stand
ards for accreditation are
taking a long look at .North
WaffCH's physical plant.
It is here that most work
must be done if the school is
to meet minimum standards
established by the State De
partment of Public Instruc
tion when the school is put
to a test in two years.
Currently North Warren
pupils attend school in a rel
atively up-to-date school?pro
vided they remain in the main
school building. In the ad
Joining building they encoun
ter the substandard condi
tions which Warren officials
must alleviate before the
school meets accreditation
standards two years from
The school's
windows rattle during a strong
??ita
gle light bulb.
the only light,
stoves are still
Fourth In A Series: North Warren High
r^T
While the physical facilities
sound a negative note, school
officials are confident the
school's personnel would pass
any accreditation test.
North Warren is the only
school in the county with a
full-time librarian and a full
time guidance counselor.
Ranging from adequate per
sonnel to inadequate physical
facilities are a number, of
areas where improvement
must be made if the schoo
is to retain an accredit#*
satua. i,-.? .
Among the standards whiel
cause maximum concern a
North Warren are:
?The school has developed
for each subject in its currtc
in which objectives are stat
(flee SCHOOLS, page *>
Mayflower Club
To Represent County
In CADA Contest
Mayflower Community will
represent Warren County in
the Capital Area Community
Development competition on
November 18.
Mayflower has represented
the county for the past four
years and has taken top hon
ors in the Capital Area for
three qonsecutive years. The
community was named 1963
courtly winner after edging
Vaughan, Snow Hill, and Rus
sell Union in the county elim
inations.
Sixteen communities are
participating in the CADA
program?a continuing, pro
gram for the cooperation of
individuals and groups work
ing for the good of the com
munity.
Mayflower, using as its
theme, "Thfe Development of
People," has involved all of
its 34 non-white, two Indian
and .one white families in the
community development pro
gram. It has launched pro
jects from picking cotton to
selling milk, increasing Sun
day School attendance, as well
as providing for the commun
ity widows.
Community leaders take
pride in telling how commun
ity development has helped
the young people to shoulder
responsibility, and the older
citizens to build a better com
munity. They say three new
homes were built using War
ren County sources of recom
mended credit and by doing
so, three families saved over
$8,000. They said they were
almost swindled on a "fly-by
night housing deal," but com
(See WINNERS, page 3)
Integration Of
Warren Schools
Object Of Suit
COMMISSIONERS GIVE APPROVAL
Industrial Tax
Vote To Be Held
Warren County citizens will
be Riven an opportunity to
express their wishes in re
gard to the. levying of a
special tax for industrial de
velopment of the county at
an election to be held in the
early part of 1964.
Whether the referendum
will be held at the special
election to amend the Con
stitution in January or in the
May primary was not de
termined by the Board of
County Commissioners at
their meeting on Monday.
Following the appearance of
representatives of the Bute
Development Company asking
that the voters be given an
opportunity to express their
views on a 5c levy for indus
trial development of the coun
ty, the commissioners agreed
to call for a referendum at
the time of another election.
Selby Benton acted as spokes
man for the group of which
Pett. B. Boyd and Monroe
Gardner were members.
Benton pointed out that the
referendum could be held at
the time of the election to
amend the Constitution in
January with no cost to the
taxpayers other- than the
small cost of printing the bal
lots. and suggested that this
would be the time for the
referendum to be held. The
commissioned agreed to call
for a vote of the people.
In a discussion following
the departure of the delega
tion. the commissioners ex
pressed the view that it might
be better if the referendum
is-Catted for at the time of
the May primary in order
that there might be greater
voter participation and in or
der that the public might be
beter informed of the rea
sons for the election. Attor
ney Jim Limer was instruct
ed to discuss this phase with
Bute Development officials
and to ascertain their wishes.
The commissioners said that
the first Monday in Decem
ber would be early enough to
set the date for the referen
dum.
Injunction
Sought By
The parents of 53 Negro
children living in Warren
County have filed a suit in
Federal court asking that the
Warren County Board of Edu
cation be directed to present
a plan calling for desegrega
tion of all schools in the
county this school year.
They asked that the court
issue a temporary and perma
nent injunction to enjoin the
board and J. R. Peeler, sup
erintendent of schools, from
operating the schools on a
segregated basis.
Peeler said Thursday that
he had received no official
notice of a suit being filed in
U. S. Eastern District Court
in Raleigh against the board
and the superintendent.
"I am at a complete loss
to understand why a case
would be filed against us in
a district Federal court,"
Peeler said. "I know only
what I have read in The
News and Observer." (The
Raleigh newspaper carried
the story in its Wednesday
edition. Since then Peeler
said he has been unable-to
gain additional information
concerning the suit.)
Race Signs To Be Taken
Down In Courthouse Here
Signs designating race will |
be removed from public toil
ets in the *courthouse the |
board of county commission
ers decided here Monday.
Action of the board came I
after a delegation of Negroes
Local Parade Will
Be Focal Point Of
Nov. 11 Holiday
Scores of Warren citizens
will turn the spotlight on
Veterans Day Monday during
a parade scheduled to get un
derway here at 2 p. m.
Soldiers, civic club mem
bers and school children will
participate in the parade, slat
ed to move along WSWenton's
Main Street from South War
renton to the John Graham
High School.
Parade Chairman Bill Neal,
a member of Limer Post No.
25 of the American Legion,
sponsors of the event, said
that a contingent of National
Giuardsmen, Boy Scouts,
school organizations, members
of the Norlina Post of Vet
erans of Foreign Wars, mem
bers of the American Legion
Auxliary and the Warrenton
Rural Fire Department will
take part in the parade.
Neal said that hand music
would be furnished by a
sound car and that several
floats would be included in
the procession.
He said that school chil
dren who march In the parade
would be excused from class
during the event.
A majority of Warrenton
stores, the court house, and
federal officers will be closed
in observance at. Veterans
Day. Also closed Monday will
be the Citisans Bank in War
renton and the Peoples Bank
in 'Norlina.
mm
representing the local chap
ter of the NAACP appeared
to protest the discriminatory
practice and to ask that the
signs "white" and "colored"
be removed and the toilets
be designated "Men" and
"Ladies."
Spokesmen for the group
of Negroes was T. T. Clay
ton, Warrenton Negro attor
ney. Others in the group
were Ernest Turner, Mrs.
Robert Ransom. Hinton Jones,
Melvin Tunstall and James
Rullock. The group compos
ed the committee appointed
by NAACP officials at a coun
ty-wide meeting in the court
house Sunday when some 400
persons were present.
Mrs. Ransom told the com
missioners that it is not be
lieved that the removal of the
signs would cause mucn
change in the actual use of
the rest rooms, but that the
sings were discriminatory and
objectionable to members of
her race.
During the discussion it
was brought out that the con
dition of the outside toilet
used by Negro men was de
plorable. It is usually filthy
and contains a large number
of empty bottles as a result
of being used as a drinking
place. Clerk of Court Joe
Ellis, custodian of the court
house, said tnat ill Iddllluu
to bottles and filth that often
toilets and other fixtures
were damaged. This was
blamed on drunks.
Later in the day the com
missioners inspected the toil
ets and said that the Negro
women's' toilet was in good
condition, but brought back
empty bottles from the toilet
of the Negro men. The court
bouse janitor was called in
and testified that he had
cleaned up the toilet that
[aoming at which time he had
.-cmoved all
The Negro
Md of the
entry to the
The suit contends that, the
Warren board:
(X) Makes assignment of
principals, teachers and other
personnel on the basis of race
md color, and (2) distributes
school funds on a racially
segregated basis.
The suit noted that a peti
tion was drafed Aug. 1 and
presented to the board urging
that it. "cease operating the
Warren County schools on a
racial basis." "Hie petition was
presented to the board during
August.
"No reply to the petition
has been received," the suit
states, "nor has any action
been taken to eliminate dis
crimination in the operation
if the school system." _
Peeler said yesterday that
'school law specificially states
that 'the administrative rem
edies provided under the
North Carolina Assignment
and Enrollment of Pupil Acts
must be exhausted before the
courts ot the United States?
will grant injunctive relief
and such rights must be as
serted as individuals, not as
a class or group'."
Peeler said that only one
Negro parent has requested
that his child be assigned to
? white school.
"His application was duly
considered, denied on sound
reasons, the parents were so
notified and no appeal made,"
Peeler said. "No other Negro
patron has requested the
board of education to
5T255?Ills child lu a
school." .?-rvr'
Peeler sad that the
had received "several
lions requesting that
Iste steps be
the Warren County
an integrated
these petitions
the board in
could be
The Aug
See INJV
Dr. F.