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Complete News Coverage Of Warren County <
Volume 80 15e Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Thursday, August 4, 1977 No. 31
Failure To Abide By State Law Cited For Possible Cut-Off
Buying Practices Threaten Revenue Sharing
By HOWARD JONES
Failure of at least three town officials to comply with a
seldom-enforced state law which prohibits elected
officials from making transactions with the town for
their own profit could result in a complete cut-off of
federal revenue sharing funds for the Town of
Warrenton.
A spokesman in the office of William H. Sager, chief
counsel of the Office of Revenue Sharing in Washington,
D. C ; confirmed this week that the U. S. Secretary of the
Treasury may withhold future revenue sharing checks
because of repeated violations of state law by local
officials.
Apparent disregard of N. C. General Statute 14-234
'which states that any elected commissioner making
transactions to his profit is guilty of a misdemeanor)
could result in the loss of almost $40,000 in revenue
sharing funds expected by Warrenton this year. Its
impact could have far ranging implications for small
municipalities across the state in which the applicable
state law traditionally goes unenforced.
Warrenton has budgeted 139,826 in revenue sharing
funds for use during the 1977-78 fiscal year. Without these
funds, services would have to be drastically cut. Had the
federal funds been stopped before adoption of the current
fiscal year's budget, taxes would have had to be
increased by one-third to meet anticipated expenditures.
The U. S. Code provides that any unit of state or local
government qualifying for revenue sharing funds "will
provide for the expenditure of amounts received.... only
in accordance with the laws and procedures applicable
to the expenditure of its own revenue."
A commitment to upholding state and local law—as
well as federal regulations—by withholding federal funds
in instances of misuse appears obvious among top-echelon
Revenue Sharing officials. Writing in the Federal
Register of July 5, 1977, Bernadine Denning, director of
the Office of Revenue Sharing, contends that "the
applicability of state or local law is one of the most
important principles of the General Revenue Sharing
Program."
At present, the conflict of interest question raised bytown
officials dealing with themselves has generated a
storm of controversy in the Johnston County community
of Clayton. An SBI probe was recently concluded in
Hillsborough after charges were raised that a former
member of the Orange County Board of Education, now a
teacher in the county system, had profited from transactions
contrary to a companion North Carolina statute.
Since 1972, when Congress passed the Local Fiscal
Assistance Act which provided the landmark legislation
in the field of revenue sharing, there has been no public
charge that revenue funds were being used here in
violation of state law, but a search through receipts of the
Developers Plan Use
For $388,000 Grant
Leaf Mart
Opens On
Poor Note
Soul City developers,
boosted by a $388,000 federal
grant for water and sewer
line construction, cleared
their last hurdle Thursday
night before beginning construction
of a new 91-lot
subdivision, the second
planned in the new Warren
County community.
Members "of the Warren
County Planning Board,
meeting in regular monthly
session here Thursday
night, gave their approval to
a final plat of the proposed
Pleasant Hills Subdivision.
The subdivision will be
located across State Road
110 from the ensting
Green-Duke Subdivision,
where 17 houses have been
completed or are under
construction.
Lew Myers of the Soul
City Sanitary District said
Wednesday that work on the
new project may begin in
October. The new subdivisioirtS'"W)Out
a five-minute
walk" from the MagnoliaErnest
Recreation Complex.
Myers said the grant
which will allow water and
sewer line implacement
came from the Department
of Housing and Urban
Development under its Title
I program. Notification of
the grant award was
received last month.
The new subdivision covers
71.52 acres, with the
average lot size being 14,255
square feet. More than 33
acres are incorporated in
the planning design as open
space.
Thursday night's meeting
was the third time that developers
had met with
planning board officials in
the steps needed to secure
final approval of the
subdivision, Planning Board
Secretary Butch Meek said.
>t>L _ J 1
Warren Will Get Another
Trooper, Patrol Reveals
Warren County will get a
new highway patrolman by
August 17, it was reported
this week by patrol headquarters
in Raleigh. The
new man will give Warren
County five resident highway
patrolmen.
Cecil Eugene Lockley will
graduate from the basic
training school of the
Highway Patrol on August
12 and report for duty in the
county on August 17, according
to headquarters.
A native of Fuquay
Varina, Lockley is a
graduate of Fuquay-Varina
Consolidated High School
and attended North Carolina
Central University in Durham
for two years.
He is married to the
former Carolyn Denise
Richardson. They have a
16-month old daughter.
Lockley will spend a
minimum of six weeks with
a Warren County trooper for
on-the-road training following
his assignment to the
county.
A lie ucvtiuytio ntic icpif
sented at the final meeting
by Floyd McKissick, Jr., son
of the founder of the new
town which has received
strong financial backing
from HUD officials.
In other action Thursday
night, members of the
planning board approved of
property partitioning along
Lake Gaston requested byAttorney
Jules Banzet on
behalf of unnamed county
property owners.
The board also refused to
grant a variance in regulation
which would have
allowed Luther F. King of
Petersburg, Va., to continue
using a common septic tank
for a mobile home and
cottage on his Lake Gaston
property.
Registrars, Judges Selected
Bv County Board Of Elections
The Warren County Board
of Elections announced this
week the names of newly
appointed registrars and
judge? for upcoming elections.
They include:
River—Doris N. Dillard,
registrar; Donna Bradley
and Venetta Grant, judges.
Sixpound—Carolyn Adcock,
registrar; Ruth Warwick
and Nina Goode, judges.
Hawtree—Albert Perkinson,
registrar; Vernell Seward
and Brenda Keeter,
judges. Smith Creek—Wilhemina
Smithwick, registrar;
Edith Rooker and
Doria Mulchi, judges. Nutbush—
Lillie Fleming, registrar;
Leonard Bender and
Charmain McKissick, judges.
Sandy Creek—Linwood
Ayscue, registrar; Mary E.
Aycock and Alma Short,
judges. Shocco—Anna Fuller,
registrar; Sandra Wilson
and Florence SomerviUe,
judges. Fishing Creek—
Hazel Harris, registrar;
Kathy Wilson and Frank
Alston, judges.
Also, Judkins— J. M.
Overby, registrar; Elinora
L. Somerville and Julia Fitz,
judges. West Warrenton—
Ernest Brauer, registrar;
Mattie E. Boyd and Oleathia
D. Hayes, judges. Fork—A.
D. Pridgen, registrar; Irene
T. Alston and Emily
Williams, judges. Roanoke
—Elizabeth Jones, registrar;
B. D. Paulin and
Catherine Davis, judges.
Norlina—K. C. Severance,
registrar; Magnolia Alston
and Deloris Fleming, Judges;
East Warrenton—Niles
Serls, registrar; Dorothy
Fowler and Edith Brown,
judges.
Appointed as assistants
were Bertha Walker and Joe
Brown for River; Charles
Swenson and Michelle
Towns for Sixpound; Wanda
S. Alston and Gillis Hicks,
Hawtree; Joyce Burton and
Doris Russell, Smith Creek;
Geraldine T. Curtis and
Geraldine Thompson, Nutbush;
Linda D. Williams
and Joyce Shearin for Sandy
Creek; Dorothy Campbell
and David W. Wilson for
Shocco; Blanche Pullen and
Brucie Richardson, Fishing
Creek.
Also, James T. Clark and
Rhoda Russell, Judkins:
Michael Roope and Carl
Bullock, West Warrenton;
Margaret Rooker and Lucy
W. Perry, Fork; Ulysses S.
Ross and Irene Stark,
Roanoke; Martha B. Overby
and Eva B. Ayscue, Norlina;
and Margaret Cheek
and Mary Guy Harris, East
Warrenton.
The registrars and Judges
are appointed for two years.
They will be sworn In on
August 22.
Light sales, poor quality
leaf and low prices marked
the opening of the Warrenton
Tobacco Market with
first sale at Centre Warehouse
at 9 o'clock Wednesday
morning.
Sales were estimated for
the market to be from
150,000 to 171KOOO pounds,
which is slightly more than
half of the daily pounds
allotted to the market.
Prices were estimated at
between 75c and 80c.
Both quality and quantity
on all five warehouse floors
reflected the result of
extremely hot and dryweather.
Much of the
tobacco was also lower
leaves. Prices ranged from
40c to $1.25, with most of the
grades bringing only the
support prices. The exception
was some early tobacco
that had been irrigated. This
type tobacco brought from
95c up with a number of
piles reaching from $1.18 to
$1.23-24.
Sales at Centre, Thompson,
Farmers, Currins and
High Dollar followed the
pattern of low quality leaf,
reflected in low prices, and
light sales.
The Warrenton and Louisburg
Tobacco Markets will
share buyers this year with
sales being held on alternate
days. There will be no
further sales here this week,
but on Monday and Wednesday
of next week the
Warrenton Market will be
open.
Town of Warrenton's paid bills has revealed gross violations
of the state law upon which future revenue funding
could hinge
During the past fiscal year, businesses operated by
three elected officials received Town of Warrenton
checks totalling more than $3,000. Payments came from
three bank accounts maintained by the town, including
one reserved expressly for revenue sharing funds.
During the 1976-77 fiscal year which ended June 30, a
total of 53 town checks were written to firms fully or
partially owned by three Warrenton officials. The 53
checks came from all three bank accounts. Receiving
town checks for goods or services provided the town
during the past fiscal year were W. A. Miles Hardware
Co.. of which Mayor W. A. Miles is a part owner: Norfleet's
Saws and Mowers, owned by Commissioner
Norfleet Cliborne; and M. Gordon Haithcock, painting
contractor.
Commissioner Haithcock received checks totalling
$1,095. all from the revenue sharing account, for his part
in renovating the Town Hall.
Mayor Miles' firm received $1,422.64. Commissioner
Cliborne's business was paid $530.44.
A check of audit reports submitted by the Henderson
firm of W H Phillips for each year since 1972 revealed
that Warrenton has received $130,264 in federal revenue
sharing funds since the program to return tax money to
local communities has been in effect. There was no
warning in the audit report that a considerable number
of purchases appeared to be in violation of the General
Statute. Neither u there any record that town officials
have been specifically told that the apparent conflict of
interest could have far-reaching effects on future
receipts of federal funds.
Federal law governing the use of revenue sharing
funds makes it clear that the Secretary of the Treasurycan
give "reasonable notice for a hearing to the chief
executive officer of the unit of local government" and
that the Secretary may further notify the unit of local
government that if it fails to take corrective action
within 60 days from the date of receipt of such
notification, further payments to it will be withheld for
the remainder of the entitlement period and for anysubsequent
entitlement period until such time as the
Secretary is satisfied that appropriate corrective action
has been taken and that there will no longer be any
failure to comply."
The U. S. Code provides that until the Secretary of the
Treasury is satisfied of compliance, he "shall make no
further payments of such amounts."
Norlina Favored As Site
Of Public Housing Complex
A proponent of public
housing, who has been in the
county for several days,
favors Norlina as the site of
a 30-apartment complex,
Mayor Bill Perry told the
Norlina Board of Commissioners
on Monday night.
Mayor Perry said that
James Dempsey of Wilson
had been in the county for
several days, accompanied
by Industrial Director Charles
Hayes, looking for a site
for a public housing structure,
and had decided on a
site of nearly four acres on
the edge of Norlina. He said
that Mr. Dempsey, who told
him that he wanted to build
30 two room apartmerfts,.
wants to appear before the
board to discuss the location
and other matters with the
board.
But first, Mayor Perrysaid,
Dempsey wants a
letter from the Norlina commissioners
stating that
Norlina has a housing
shortage. The commissioners
agreed that there is a
shortage, and instructed the
Mayor to write to Mr.
Dempsey, Bernstein-Dempsey
Company, 2103 North
Nash Road, Wilson, N. C.,
informing him of the
housing need at Norlina and
inviting him to appear
before the Norlina board to
pursue the matter further.
Another sign of Norlina
growth was in evidence
i
FINISHING TOUCHES—Bobby O. Burnette, Henderson sign painter, complete* the
lettering a new sign gracing the recently remodelled Warrenton Town Hall. As the
■ign was completed laat week, town employees began painting over an old Boyd-Boyce
Motor Co. sign on the wall of a downtown store, and firemen oversaw the burning of the
remains of the old Bnptist Chnrch on Sonth Main Street Tuesday night in other
benntification efforts. The chnrch foudntion will be levelled by bnlldoser enabling
workers to keep the area clear of undergrowth. [Staff Photo]
HALLELUJAH—Umbrellas and raincoats were
brought out of mrtbballs this week as Mother Nature
cooperated to break a long drought which had seriously
damaged farm crops and vegetable gardens. Monday's
rainfall was followed by showers on Wednesday. Farm
agents said the combined precipitation was worth
several million dollars to tobacco and soybean growers.
Rainfall In Warren
Said Worth Millions
Rains of Monday and
Tuesday were described by
L. B. Hardage yesterday as
two to three million dollar
rains. Already, he said
tobacco is showing the
effect. Monday's rain was
light in some sections of the
county, but were heavy in
the northern and eastern
part of the county, with an
inch being reported at
Monday night as the Town
Clerk informed the commissioners
that John and James
Pace, father and son, who
were planning to open a
pizza parlor in the old Hunt
Restaurant building, wanted
to obtain a beer license.
She said that she informed
the proprietors that they
would first have to obtain a
state and county license
before they could obtain a
town license.
Mayor Perry said that it
was his understanding that
the new beer parlor would
only serve beer with meals,
and that part of the building
be used for a repair shop.
Gene Swearingen of Raleigh,
whose company is
headquartered in Durham,
appeared before the commissioners
at the outset of
the meeting with projector
to explain his project to the
commissioners. It would
appear that Swearingen's
company, Management Improvement
Corp. of America,
(MICA) had assembled
a number of experts in a
number of fields, which
enabled MICA to solve
many of the problems of
small towns who do not have
expertise in so many fields.
Swearingen submitted to
the Norlina board two plans,
both on a money back
guarantee. Plan A would be
that Norlina would pay
MICA $13,000, which would
be placed under bond; ii
MICA's services at the end
of the year had not beer
worth $13,000 to the town
the money would be return
ed. Plan B was for th<
signing of a contract for th<
payment of $15,000 at thi
end of the year, with th<
same guarantee as unde
Plan A. Further earnings o
savings would accrue to th
(Continued on page 6)
Norlina. and up to an inch
and a half near Lake
Gaston. The rains of
Tuesday night and Wednesday
morning were both
widespread and heavy.
Hardage said that the
rains came too late to save
late corn, but would be
beneficial to early corn and
should result in Warren
County making a 50% corn
crop. It will be of great help
to soybean growers and
could mean the difference
between success and failure.
Hardage said he was
afraid that the pastures are
about gone. They were not in
too good shape to start with,
he said, as low prices for
cattle caused farmers to fail
to fertilize pastures properly
Heavy winds associated
with Monday's rain storm
caused a tree to fall on a
house trailer on Route 1,
Manson. The trailer was
owned by George Burton.
Mrs. Burton and the three
children were not at home at
the time of the storm which
hit at about 4 p. m.
Clarence Skillman, weatherman
for Warren County,
reported on Monday that
normal rainfall for the
county during July is about
six or seven inches. Rainfall
measured at 8 a. m. during
the entire month of July
showed only .88 inches. The
largest amount fell on July 2
when .65 was measured. The
remaining .23 inch was
scattered throughout the
month.
Extremely high temperatures
and the lack of rain
have resulted in crop failure
throughout the county,
which has been deemed a
disaster. Skillman reported
that seven days during the
month the temperatures
were over 100 degrees.
He said the temperatures
ranged upward steadily
beginning July 6 with 100; 7,
101; 8, 102 and 9, 101. The
county had a ten-day break
in these high temperatures
but the mercury hit the 100
degree mark again on July
19 with 101 reported on the
20th and 21st.
The lowest temperature
was 81 degrees on July 24
and 25, Skillman said. He
s also reported 54 degrees as
i the coolest morning temper>
ature and that was on July
! 28.
Luckily, the Warrenton
Water Department has not
' indicated a need for more
water as surrounding towns.