larren tonllem . Library X
117 S.llaln St.
Warrenton, N.C. 27589
(Lift barren iRecorii
Volume 86 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, August 17, 1983 Number 33
Schools
Receive
Funding
Warren County
Schools will receive
$2,318 of more than
$822,000 in grants awar
ded to 93 counties in the
state by the N. C. De
partment of Cultural
Resources through its
Grassroots Arts
Program.
The funds provided to
Warren County will be
earmarked for the
School Arts Festival and
for concerts, according
to an announcement
made jointly by Gov.
Jim Hunt and Cultural
Resources Secretary
Sara Hodgkins.
The Grassroots Arts
Program, established
by the General Assem
bly in 1977, is the state
Art Council's main
source of funding for
local and community
arts activities. Through
the program, the
Legislature allocates
funds to each county on
a per capita basis. The
original appropriation
designated about five
cents per person. Now
the total allocation is
almost 15 cents per per
son.
"Of all our programs,
Grassroots Arts is
probably the one that
does the best job of
reaching out across the
state to all North
Carolinians," according
to Mary Regan,
executive director of the
N.C. Arts Council.
"It's genuinely a part
nership between state
government and local
citizens," she said.
Lakeland Cultural
Arts Center in Littleton
was also awarded a
grant of $3,905 in funds
designated for Halifax
County. The funds will
be used for Children's
Theatre performances.
Hearing Slated
The Warren County
Board of Commis
sioners will conduct a
public hearing at 8
o'clock tonight at the
Warren County Court
House to receive input
on a proposal to levy a
one-half percent sup
plemental local govern
ment sales and use tax.
Warren County's two delegates to the 1983 ses
sion of Boys State, held earlier this summer, were
entertained Thursday night by members of Limer
Post 25 of the American Legion. Legionnaires met
at The Rafters Steakhouse for the post's traditional
fried chicken dinner held to honor Boys State par
ticipants. Shown above, from left to right, are
Delegate Glenn Harris, Post Commander Wayne
Lawhorne, Delegate Karl Daeke and Adjutant
Howard F. Oakley, who was program chairman for
the event. Both Warren delegates fared well in elec
tions at Boys State, Legionnaires were told. Part of
a 438-man contingent, Daeke was elected com
missioner of agriculture and Harris was voted in as
a city judge. (Photo by Mary Hunter)
Warren Gets 'Clean Bill'
Although Warren
County is the site of a
state hazardous waste
landfill and has been
targeted by the federal
government as a
possible site for a
nuclear waste storage
facility, it is one of the
few counties in the state
that generates no
hazardous waste.
According to the 1982
Annual Report on
Hazardous Waste in
North Carolina, 599
generators and other
handlers of hazardous
waste responded to a
survey, the results of
which indicated that 6.2
billion pounds of hazar
dous waste was
produced in the state
during 1982.
Of that 6.2 billion
pounds, 6.1 billion
pounds are accounted
for by including for the
first time a new cate
gory of hazardous
waste: wastewater frwn
electroplating and other
industrial processes.
"Without this new
category of waste,
North Carolina generat
ed only 109 million
pounds of hazardous
waste," 0. W. Strick
land, head of North
Carolina's Solid and
Hazardous Waste Man
agement Branch said.
The 10 largest hazar
dous waste-generating
counties were Mecklen
burg, Gaston, Cabarrus,
Wake, Moore, Bladen,
Forsyth, Nash,
Guilford, and New
Hanover.
Of the counties
surrounding Warren,
Halifax produced the
greatest volume of
hazardous waste at
1,312,680 pounds. North
amption was next with
80,562 pounds, followed
by Vance with 3,544
pounds. Franklin Coun
ty produced none.
According to
Strickland, without the
new category of waste,
the state achieved a 72
percent decrease over
the waste included in the
1981 report.
The factors he sited as
contributing to the
decrease included a
reduction in the total
number of generators,
the use by industry of
alternative processes so
that less or no hazar
dous waste is generated,
and a more accurate
classification of waste.
Most of the waste
generated (93.8 percent)
in North Carolina, ac
cording to the report,
was toxic, corrosive, or
reactive.
Toxic wastes contain
metals, organic
chemicals, and
pesticides that are
poisonous. They include
arsenic, barium, and
mercury. These wastes
made up 4.7 percent of
North Carolina's hazar
dous waste.
Reactive wastes are
materials that can
generate toxic fumes or
gases, b"rn
vigorously,or combine
violently with other
materials. They include
various solvents and
other organic chemicals
and sulfide waste, and
they accounted for 60.5
percent of the states
hazardous waste.
The rest of North
Carolina's waste comes
from flammable
materials such as paint
thinner and finishing
lacquer,, and other
solvents; from
processes using
cyanide; and from wood
preservatives and other
chemicals.
Young Girl Dies
In Horse Mishap
The 14-year-old grand
daughter of a Warrenton
woman died last Wed
nesday from injuries
received when a horse
she was riding reared
and fell on her.
Kathryn Hudgins
Johnson, granddaughter
of Mrs. Daniel Hudgins
of Warrenton and
daughter of the former
Judy Hudgins of War
renton, was leading a
group of riders from J
and H Stables along
trails adjacent to
William B. Umstead
Park in Raleigh when
the accident occurred
about 1:15 p. m.
Miss Johnson was a
volunteer trail guide at
the stables, and had
worked there for several
years.
An employee of the
stables said it was not
clear what caused the
accident.
Miss Johnson died
from internal bleeding
around 5 p. m. at Rex
Hospital.
Funeral services were
conducted by the Rev.
Gary E. Parker at
Warrenton Baptist
Church Friday with
burial in Fairview
Cemetery. Pallbearers
were Hilton Lamm,
Roth Smith, Wes Brown,
Mike Daly, Mac
Hudgins and Gary Pin
nell.
Miss Johnson is sur
vived by her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
M. Johnson of Raleigh;
a brother, Trey John
son, of Raleigh and
Greenville; her mater
nal grandmother, Mrs.
al grandmother, Mrs.
Daniel Hudgins of
Warrenton; and her
paternal grandmother,
Mrs. Geraldine Johnson
of Durham.
Dead Man s Fingers Assessed
Seaweed Is Seen As Help On Farm
By DAVID WILLIAMSON
Dead man's fingers, a form of seaweed that is
moving down the Atlantic coast and choking
shellfish beds on its journey south, may turn out to
be a valuable new fertilizer for corn and other
crops, according to a marine biologist at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Soil treated with the weed, which scientists call
codium, produced roughly 30 percent more corn
than soil dressed with horse manure, said Dr. Hans
Paerl, an associate professor at UNC-CH's Institute
of Marine Sciences in Morehead City.
"It's too early to speculate on how valuable
codium may be as a fertilizer, because there are a
lot of questions that remain to be answered," Paerl
said. "Still, it looks promising right now, especialy
since the plant is such a nuisance when it's growing
in the water."
Like Kudzu, the land-based plant that covers
Junked cars, trees and everything else in its oath in
a slow green wave, codium originated in the Far
East It gets its nickname, "dead man's fingers"
from its rubbery, cylindrical leaves that remind
some people of the dead.
"Codium first became a problem in New England
around the time of World War II and has been
moving southward to Florida since then," Paerl
said. "Once it gets established, it grows very
luxuriantly, clogging oyster and clam beds and
depleting oxygen in the water when parts of it die
back and rot every year.
Because of the way it r
just creates a lot more \
ding the problem is the
decomposes, which Paer
most awful smell you can
The seaweed thrives
Carolina and neighborir
ability to attract nitrogen
in those areas, the scier
plishes this by providini
algae, which contains
nitrogen gas to ammoni
needs.
Paerl, who conducted
with the help of North Ca
said he was not certain 1
corn yields in the experi
made the soil richer as
plant appears to work be
sed of excess salt, dried
fall.
Whether dead man's fir
portant fertilizer—and a
depressed coastal region
how economical its harve
convincing farmers to use
"One big advantage c<
other manures," Paerl si
tain the seeds of other kin
"I
^produces, chopping it up
lants, he said. Compoun
odor it gives off when it
I termed "just about the
imagine."
in the waters off North
g states because of its
, normally in short supply
tist explained. It accom
[ a home for blue-green
enzymes that convert
a and nitrates the plant
his preliminary studies
rolina Sea Grant funding,
ow codium improved the
ments, but he believes it
It released nitrogen. The
it as a fertilizer when rin
and applied to soil in the
gers ever becomes an im
new source of income for
I—will depend chiefly on
sting can be made and on
it.
dium has over horse and
id, "is that it doesn't con
Is of common weeds."
Local Market Opens
Prices 'Good,'
Volume Is Off
By KAY HORNER
Staff Writer
The opening sale at
Farmer's Warehouse in
Warrenton last Wednes
day morning ushered in
the 1983 tobacco season
with an average of $150
per hundred pounds,
about $2 per hundred
pounds over last year's
opening prices.
Officials reported that
prices paid for tobacco
at Farmer's Warehouse
Wednesday ranged from
a low of $110 to a high of
$170 per hundred
pounds. Only six percent
went under loan to the
flue-cured stabilization
corporation.
According to Alice
Marie Robertson, sales
supervisor for the
Warrenton Tobacco
Market, total sales on
the market Wednesday
were 192,012 pounds
with an average of
$137.35 per hundred
pounds and 15 percent of
the tobacco sold going to
stabilization.
The corporation
places tobacco into
stabilization if it fails to
bring at least a penny
more than current price
supports.
Mrs. Robertson said
she is pleased with the
prices so far this season,
but disappointed with
the volume. She predict
ed that sales today on
the market would be
completed by 11 a. m.,
an indication that much
tobacco remains in the
field.
The Warrenton
market's 15 percent was
surprisingly low. By
comparison, opening
(Continued on page 10)
Flames Destroy
Home In Warren
A large two-story
frame house in the
Churchill-Five Forks
section of Warren Coun
ty was completely
destroyed by fire early
Monday morning. The
building was located
across the road from
Leete's Hog Parlor.
The building,
estimated to be 150
years old, had been
vacant for some time. It
was once the home of
Ree Taylor, and is
believed to still belong
to him, according to
Allen Adcock, assistant
chief of the Churchill
Fire Department.
Although rural volun
teer firemen with
equipment from
Norlina, Macon, and
Churchill, and rural
firemen from the
Warrenton company,
responded to the call,
the old home was com
pletely destroyed. Ad
cock said there is no
way to estimate the
damage.
■ . ( ~
Branch Is Planned
" If an application with
the State Banking Com
mission and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Cor
poration is approved,
First Citizens Bank will
be opening a branch in
Littleton.
The branch office
would be located at 111
15 East South Main
Street, the former
location of Newsom
Motor Company.
First Citizens, which
has a branch in Warren
ton, also has branches in
two Halifax County
locations, in Roanoke
Rapids and Weldon.
First Citizens Cor
poration, the parent
company of First
Citizens Bank, is based
in Raleigh. It reported
record earnings for the
quarter ending June 30,
with net income of $5.6
million. Income before
securities transactions
totalled $5.9 million, an
increase of 26.7 percent
over the $4.6 million
earned during the same
period last year.
Public Hearing Planned
Mobile Home
Park Is Studied
Warren County will
get a new mobile home
park if a request for a
zoning change is ap
proved by Warrenton
town commissioners.
Laura Bennie Davis of
Warrenton, and her
brother, Kearny Davis,
have requested that
about five acres on the
Warrenton - Norlina
Road (U.S. 158) curren
tly zoned industrial be
changed to residential
(R-20). The property is
about four-tenths of a
mile from the Warren
ton city limits.
According to Ms.
Davis, law requires that
each lot be at least 100
feet by 150 feet. She
estimates that the park
would have about 20 or
30 spaces.
"We would like to
start work on the park
by the middle or end of
September," Ms. Davis
said, "depending on
when and if we get
zoning approval."
Although the park will
be primarily for the ren
tal of mobile home lots,
Ms. Davis said that a
few mobile homes may
be placed on lots for ren
tal.
"There is a definite
need for r. mobile home
park in this area," she
said. "So many people
can afford mobile
homes, but don't have
anywhere to put them.''
A public hearing has
been scheduled for
Monday, August 29 at
7:30 p.m. at the Warren
ton Town Hall.
Industrial Aide
Stepping Down
Betty Jean Capps,
secretary to the Warren
County manager, has
resigned her position ef
fective September 9,
leaving two positions to
be filled in the offices of
the county manager and
the county Industrial
Development Com
mission.
It was previously re
ported that Mrs. Capps
would be leaving her
post as secretary to the
county manager to
become secretary to the
Industrial Development
Commission, but Mrs.
Capps said Monday that
she will not be making
that move, and is
resigning "to go home."
Mrs. Capps has been
with the county for 11
yea; s, first as secretary
to the industrial
developer and then as
secretary to the county
manager and industrial
developer when those
two positions were com
bined in 1976.
The two positions
were recently separated
by the county com
missioners and Jim
Whitley was employed
as industrial developer.
Impact Statement
Asked By Valentine
Concerned with a
possible unwarranted
transfer of water out of
North Carolina, Second
District Congressman
Tim Valentine last week
asked the Army Corps of
Engineers for an en
vironmental impact
statement on a proposed
water supply pipeline
from Lake Gaston to the
Tidewater area of
Virginia.
In a letter to the
Norfolk District
Valentine noted that a
Corps study of water
supply alternatives has
not been completed or
made public. He also
cited a shortened permit
process that denies the
public an adequate op
portunity to study the
project and to make
their views known.
"While no one wants
>r, Congressman
1
to deny the legitimate
needs of any city,"
Congressman Valentine
said, "it should be con
clusively shown that the
importing cities are
fully utilizing all
available nearby
sources before contem
plating a transfer from
the Roanoke River
basin."
"An environmental
impact statement would
provide the public with
objective information on
the feasibility of alter
native sources of water
supply," Congressman
Valentine said. "It
would serve to verify the
amount of water needed
by Tidewater Virginia
and would determine
the extent to wMdi this
need can be met by
existing sources and by
more efficient use of
water."