Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / July 13, 1983, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
1 . ■ - I larren tonMain. Library X - i™:":i""'" (Lift JUarrm iSecorfr r" Volume 86 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, July 13, 1983 Number 28 \ American Heritage Campground Sold To Penn. Firm By KAY HORNER Staff Writer American Heritage Campground, a 74-acre facility located on Lake Gaston near Littleton, was sold last week by the family of the late John T. Nelson, Sr. to Outdoor World, a Pennsylvania-based corporation with campgrounds in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Williamsburg, Va. According to John T. Nelson, Jr., president of Lake Gaston Properties, Inc. which handled the transaction, the selling price of the Warren County property was in excess of $1 million. Barry Panchetti, marketing director for Outdoor World, said yesterday that the campground, which in the past has been open to the public, will now be operated on a private membership basis. Members pay a one-time fee of $6,993 which en titles them to privileges at any of the corporation's six campgrounds. Panchetti said the staff of approximately 30 em ployed by American Heritage will be retained, and an additional 40 or so jobs will be created by the acquisition. Outdoor World also has plans for what Panchetti termed "cosmetic" improvements this year amounting to $150,000. "The Nelson family did a splendid job in develop ment of the campsight," Panchetti said, noting that Outdoor World planned no major changes in layout of the campground. The marina and restaurant will continue to be open to the public. American Heritage Campground, which opened Memorial Day 1972, was begun as a family venture by Nelson, Sr., his wife, Lorena, and children, John T. Nelson, Jr. and Peggy Nelson Light. "It was purchased as a raw tract of land on a dirt road and developed completely by the family," Nelson said last week. Nelson, Sr., who was a mechanical contractor from Chesapeake, Va., died in 1979. Mrs. Nelson continued to operate the business with the assist ance of her son and daughter. Nelson indicated that the decision to sell was based primarily on his mother's desire to retire, and his own involvement with his real estate business. He said that his sister will continue as camp ground manager with Outdoor World, and thai he has been retained as a cor.sultant for the camp ground. American Heritage was one of the first camp grounds on I,ake Gaston, and Nelson estimated that as many as 1,200 people have been served by the facility on capacity weekends. Includes Seven-Cent Tax Raise Norlina Budget Finally Wins Approval Of Board The Norlina Board of Commissioners — unable to muster a quorum at their first at tempt to pass a new budget almost two weeks age —Monday night saw a 1983-84 municipal budget proposed by Mrs. Mae Gums, town clerk, enjoy smooth sailing en route to unanimous passage. The new budget, which calls for a seven cent tax increase, the first raise since 1978, in cludes a five percent across-the-board pay hike for municipal em ployees. Mrs. Gums said the budget will require a rate of 67 cents per $100 valuation. It is based, she said, on a valuation of $8,678,995 and a collection rate of 90 per cent, based on the ex perience of collection in 1982-83. Following the brief budget summary by Mrs. Gums, Com missioner Jimmy Over by made the motion to adopt. Commissioner John Dore seconded the motion and the budget was passed as delegation of towns people, none of whom spoke on the budget, filled the small municipal building where Monday night's regular session was held. In other action taken Monday night, the board learned of the resigna tion of Kenneth Severance as chairman of the town's Board of Elections. The board quickly moved to name Mr^. Nita Fuller to take Severance's place, and voted to retain the two elections judges, Mrs. Dot Bpbbitt and Leon Knight. " The board unanimous ly agreed to sell license stickers once again in 1984, despite a com plaint from Mrs. Gums that there is no enforce ment of the ordinance which requires display of the stickers. The matter of non payment of personal property taxes by Police Officer James Cham pion was brought up as Mayor Kenneth Davis produced a copy of a newspaper legal adver tisement from the mid 1960s which showed that Champion owed delinquent taxes. "I think town em ployees ought to pay their taxes," Davis told the board. "Everyone else has to pay them." Commissioner Ben Lloyd concurred with the mayor, and Com missioner William Leonard said he under stood that Champion now planned to pay the amount of back taxes. Mr. and Mrs. Ted Gray, owners of a local restaurant, appealed to the board to help find Greyhound Bus Lines a stopping point in Norlina. They said that passengers awaiting the bus filled their parking lot and caused incon venience for their regular customers. The bus stop was formerly next door to the Gray's restaurant and the Gray's said that they had been unsuccessful in their application to have a bus stop, although the stop was no longer made at the next door Norlina Bus Station. Commissioners ex pressed concern that there is no longer a bus stop in Norlina, and in structed Mrs. Gums to write Greyhound of ficials in an effort to (Continued on page 5) Bill Would Give Town State Financial Help Chances of Warrenton collecting expenses from the State in the amount of $2,058 in curred by the Warren ton Police Department during anti-PCB march es in the county are bright with the introduc tion of a bill by State Representative John Church asking for payment of the town bill, Mayor B. G. White told town commission ers on Monday night. Mayor White said that he had received a copy of the bill on Thursday but did not know if it had yet been ratified. He said that he had a long telephone conversation since then from Senator Julian Allsbrook, during which Allsbrook said that he would help the town recover its expen ses from the state emergency fund. A copy of Representa tive Church's bill was submitted to the com missioners. Delbridge May Fight ABC Ouster The unexpected removal of two mem bers of the Warren County ABC Board by county commissioners at their regular meeting on Tuesday of last week came as a surprise not only to the board mem bers involved, but also to the state ABC Com mission. Controversy has sur rounded the county commissioners' de cision to accept a resig nation from Bill Delbridge of Norlina of fered six months ago, but not accepted at that time, and to unseat John Henry Palmer of Macon from the local ABC Board. Delbridge's resigna tion was offered last January after a report from Bill Hester of the state ABC Commission that the local ABC operation was not making the profit it could, and that the system employed too many clerks for the number of stores. However, the board did not act on the resig nation, and Delbridge said yesterday that he did not consider the resignation valid and that he had no desire to leave the board. Hester, in a telephone interview yesterday said that he felt problems within the county ABC system had been worked out, and that recommendations on modernizing the system had already begun. "I had hoped that with the line of communi cation I had opened with the commissioners in which they had asked me to come up and help them would have meant that they would have let (Continued on page 10) Kearney Murder Trial Guilty Plea Entered By KAY HORNER Staff Writer A Norlina man on trial this week in Warren County Superior Court in connection with Jie shooting death of his stepson last March yesterday changed his plea from not guilty of first degree murder to guilty of second degree murder after his wife, mother-in-law, and step daughter testified Mon day for the prosecution. In the plea bargain arrangement, assistant district attorneys Ran dolph Baskerville and Robert Weathers agreed to accept the plea of guilty by David Son Kearney, 37, to the lesser charge of second degree murder in the death of Randolph Suite, Jr., 26, also of Norlina. Kearney faces a possible maximum sen tence of life imprison ment. Monday, the jury heard testimony from Kearney's wife, Annie, that her son, Suite, had come to visit her and her mother, Mary Watkins, both of whom were not well, on the night of the shooting. She testified that her son inquired about their health, and that her hus band, Kearney, came into the room where the three were and told Suite that he was "tired of all your questions." Kearney then went up stairs, she said, and returned with a shotgun, turning on Suite and shooting him. In addition to Mrs. Kearney, other wit nesses for the prosecution, Mrs. Watkins, and Mary Silver, Kearney's step daughter and Suite's sister, testified that they were in the room at the time of the shooting, which occurred around 10:45 p. m. at the Kear ney-Watkins residence on U. S. 158 North of the Norlina city limit. Sheriff's Deputy Harold Seaman, who in vestigated the shooting, testified Monday that he was standing over the deceased when Kearney tapped him on the shoulder and said that he had shot Suite. Seaman testified that he advised Kearney of his rights, and that Kearney voluntarily said that he had "done wrong and would take any time he gets." In his opening statement, defense at torney Marty Rooker of Warrenton said that he intended to show that Kearney acted in self defense. He charged that Suite had a reputation for being a "violent, vicious, fighting man" when drinking and that Kearney had on previous occasions been attacked and assaulted by Suite. It was established on (Continued on page-3) Driver Held On $10,000 Bond Officers Converge On Car Stolen In Winston-Salem A highway patrolman, a wildlife officer, and a deputy sheriff had a part in the arrest of a 34 year-old Asheville man in Warren County on Saturday and charged with the theft of a 1979 Buick automobile valued at $3,500 in Win ston-Salem July 8. As Highway Patrolman A. M. Ben nett drove down the Manson ramp off 1-85 on Saturday he was accost ed by Conley Mangum, wildlife protector, who told him that a motorist with paper plates was at the foot of the grade. Bennett said the man would not talk, so he got the number of the car from its engine and found that it had been stolen in Winston Salem. While Patrolman Bennett was examining the car, Warren Deputy Sheriff Harold Seaman came up and finger printed the man, who was carried before a magistrate by Patrolman Bennett. It was learned at the sheriff's office Tuesday afternoon that the man refused to give his name or talk, and as a result he was placed in Warren County jail under $10,000 bond. He was given a 96 hour hearing on Tuesday morning but refused to talk and was returned to jail to await a preliminary hearing in Warren County District Court on Wednesday morning. Tuesday afternoon Highway Patrolman Bennett told a represen tative of The Warren Record that he had visited the man in the Warren County jail and that he had talked freely to him. The prisoner gave his name as Harry Lee Johnson of 2SB Pisgah View Apartments in Asheville and his date of birth as July 9,1913. He told the officer that he was without a cent in his pocket when he visited a parking lot in Winston Salem where he found the Buick car parked with the key in its lock. Taking the car, he drove to Virginia and was returning to Winston Salem and had posted a written notice to the car saying that the license tag had been lost when he stopped in Warren County. Bennett said that Johnson indicated that he had served time for breaking, entering and larceny, and when he had finished his sen tence he could not get his job back, and as a result had neither job nor money. Church Has Ambitious Designs \ For Old Afton School Building By KAY HORNER Staff Writer If all goes according to schedule, the old Afton schoolhouse in Warren County will next month become the place of worship for the Universal Mission Apostolic Church. The Warren County Board of Education approved the sale of the school to the church at its June 13 meeting. The church bid |36,275 in a recent public auction for the facility. Carlton Terry, a trustee of the church responsible for the project, said that the congregation is con sidering operation of a child care center and camp at the site beginning next summer. The church, which has been meeting in a leased facility in Macon, has about SO members, Terry said. The church also has congregations at Auburn, Ala. and Brooklyn, N. Y. TbB sohooi, built in 1960, was a county elementary school until consolidation of schools within the I system in 1970. After that, it housed offices for federal education programs, including those implementing ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act), and two or three rooms were used for kindergarten and second grade classes from South Warren Elemen tary School, according to James Jordan, assistant superintendent of Warren County schools. Jordan said Monday that the building was no longer needed when enrollment stabilized at South Warren and offices for a federal program were moved to the county education administration building on Cousin Lucy's Lane in Warrenton. The schoolhouse was leased by the Afton-Elberon Ruritan Club for awhile, but Jordan said the club chose not to renew its leaae. The building, on a 4.K-acre site, has a total of 11,142 square feet, and was built on land purchased by the county in 1919. Vacant Afton-Elberon School
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 13, 1983, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75