Varrentonllem. Library X
117 S.Mala St.
Varrenton, N.C. 27589
Qtye barren IRccard
Volume 87 25* Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, June 20, 1984 Number 25
Mariam Boyd students Tamala Ayscue and Chad
Copeland, with their teacher Mrs. Eddy Welker,
display prizes they won in an essay contest sponsor
ed by Lysol. (Staff Photo)
National Contest
Won By Students
In an essay contest
sponsored by Lysol, two
third-graders from
Mariam Boyd Elemen
tary School have been
declared winners and
have earned prizes for
themselves and their
school.
Chad Copeland, a
student in Mrs. Eddy
Welker's class, was
named one of 18 grand
prize-winners in the
nation in his age group
for his essay on "Why
Our School Needs a
Computer." The prize
consisted of two com
puters with speech syn
thesizers, game car
tridges, and instruction
manuals, one for Chad
and one for his school.
A second winner from
Mrs. Welker's class was
Tamala Ayscue. Her
essay enabled her to
claim one of the 50 first
prizes awarded in her
age group, kindergarten
through grade four.
Both Tamala and Mrs.
Welker received the
Speak and Spell elec
tronic learning game.
To introduce the stu
dents to the contest,
Mrs. Jane Steelman
designed a lesson on
computers. This lesson
was followed by a
writing lesson planned
by Mrs. Welker to meet
the requirements of the
Lysol essay contest. One
of the objectives of the
lesson was to show the
children that writing
has a purpose. It was
based on research of the
National Writing Pro
ject.
Chad Copeland's prize
winning essay entitled
"Mariam Boyd School
Needs a Computer"
reads as follows: "If I
was a computer, I would
run away and get all my
computer friends and
find Mariam Boyd
School and we would
stay in every class
because this school
doesn't have any com
puters. We would help
every child so they could
do something besides
write."
Tamala Ayscue,
writing on "My School
Needs a Computer,"
stated, "We need a
computer because as we
grow we need more and
more help. The com
puter is a faster way to
learn things. It can
teach us music and
spelling words and math
facts and show us pic
tures and more. I wish
with all my might we
had a computer."
Free Food To Be Given
Five U. S. Department of Agriculture Surplus
food items will be distributed to low income families
on June 27, according to Julian Farrar, director of
Warren County Department of Social Services.
The National Guard Armory on U. S. 158 east of
Warrenton will again be the distribution site for
cheese, flour, corn meal, milk and honey.
Families not currently receiving Aid to Families
with Dependent Children or food stamps must com
plete a signed, self-declaration statement showing
that the total amount of household income is below
the required level before being certified to receive
the food items.
For food stamp recipients, the card authorizing
their participation in that program is sufficient
proof for surplus food eligibility.
Households must have incomes below those in
dicated below for participation.
Family Size Income
For each additional household member, $182 a
month should be added.
Distribution will begin at 9 a. m. and is expected
to cmttnue throughout the day, Farrar said;
»•
1.
1.
.$527 monthly
..709 monthly
..891 monthly
1,073 monthly
1,255 monthly .
1,437 monthly
1,619 monthly
1,801 monthly
Warren Hospital Options Are Examined
By KAY HORNER
News Editor
After eight months of study, the Warren General
Hospital Task Force last Thursday finalized recom
mendations aimed at helping to transform the
financially ailing 37-bed in-patient facility into a
viable health care entity.
The recommendations, which will be made to
hospital trustees and county commissioners, focus
on specialized health care services that could be of
fered by a facility more tailored to the needs of
county citizens than a general hospital.
While urging hospital trustees and commissioners
to take the lead in innovating changes in the health
services of the hospital, the task force also made the
following recommendations:
—That funds be sought to plan for a rural com
munity health facility that would coordinate its
programs with those of other health care agencies;
—That the feasibility of a geriatric and chronic ill
ness center be explored;
—That funding for an out-patient ambulatory ser
vice be looked into;
—That joint specialty clinics with county health
Brileys Captured
FBI Nabs
Brothers
FBI agents Tuesday
night captured the
elusive Briley brothers
in Philadelphia, Pa.,
bringing to an end a far
reaching manhunt
triggered by the largest
escape of death row
prisoners in the nation's
history.
Lin wood and James
Briley, the last of six
convicts who broke out
of a maximum security
prison in Mecklenburg
County, Va. and made
their way to Warrenton
on the night of May 31,
surrendered peacefully
to federal agents who
were able to break the
case after learning the
brothers had relatives in
the Pennsylvania city.
The Briley brothers
were on Virginia's death
row when they engineer
ed an elaborate escape
plan which-involved the
use of a stolen prison
van which Warrenton
police discovered on the
Mariam Boyd play
ground in the early
morning hours of June 1.
The Brileys, Lem
Tuggle, Jr., Willie Leroy
Jones and two escapees
who were arrested at
Willoughby's coin
operated laundry about
6 p. m. on June 1— Earl
Clanton and Derrick
Peterson—were the ob
jects of a massive
ground and air search
that continued until last
night.
The Warrenton com
mand post, from which
the initial search had
been directed, was
closed on June 11
following the capture of
Tuggle and Jones by
Vermont state police.
Tuggle was driving a
truck stolen in Afton the
night of the escape.
Since then, the Brileys
were believed to be in a
heavily wooded area
stretching from Ver
mont across the
Canadian border and a
large manhunt had been
centered there.
Tax Figures Given
The North Carolina
Department of Revenue
has released an analysis
of state sales and use
tax collections and gross
retail sales by counties
for the month of April.
In the analysis,
Warren County showed
gross collections
totalling $73,571.70 and
gross retail sales of
$3,720,300,00.
Gross collections for
neighboring Franklin
County were $187,740.35;
for Halifax, $538,596.30;
and for Vance,
$411,779.14.
Soil Conservation official John Kiliao, right, presents Raymond Seaman with
tne Farm Family of the Year award during a dinner meeting held last week. At
left !• Seaman's wife, Ruby. Their two sons, Craig, 7, and Wayne, 5, also wit
ness the presentation. (Staff Photo)
Raymond Seaman Family
Wins Top Farm Award
By MARY C.HARRIS
Stall Writer
Raymond Seaman
and his lamily ol Man
son stand tall among the
400 to 500 farmers in
Warren County, as they
have been named Farm
Family of the Year by
the Warren County Soil
Conservation District.
Seaman and his wife,
the former Ruby Kim
ball, also a Manson
native, and their sons,
seven-year-old Craig
and five-year-old
Wayne, were recognized
on Tuesday, June 12, at
a banquet at Warren
Laboratories Division of
Carolina Biological
Supply Company. Soil
Conservation Service
Supervisor John Kilian
presented the award.
Seaman, 33, a gradu
ate of John Graham
High School, has been
engaged in farming all
his adult life. He grows
tobacco, soybeans,
wheat and barley, em
ploying a number of soil
and water conservation
practices.
The Soil Conservation
Service helped Seaman
to plan his farm in
March. He uses grassed
waterways, field bor
ders, terraces, contour
farming, conservation
cropping system, and
conservation tillage to
increase yields and
preserve the land.
Woodland conser
vation has been prac
ticed mfo the planting
of loblolly pines oo cut
over land. Feeders and
nesting boxes have been
made available to
preserve the wildlife
habitat.
Seaman has found the
Extension Service and
the Forest Service as
well as the Soil Conser
vation Service to be
valuable resources in
his farming.
The Seamans are ac
tive in their community.
He is a member of the
Drewry Fire Depart
ment and the Warren
County Farm Bureau.
Seaman and his family
are members of St.
Paul's Lutheran
Church.
Previous citations in
clude a nomination for
Outstanding Young
Tobacco Farmer by
the Extension Service
and Phillip Morris,
U.S.A. He was also 1983
(Continued on page 8)
Break-Ins Reported
In Areas Of Warren
Five break-ins at Kerr
and Gaston lakes were
reported to the Warren
County Sheriffs Depart
ment on Saturday.
Thomas E. Perry
returned to his home at
Kimball's Point on Ken
Lake around noon and
found the front door
open. Upon entering the
house, he missed a 17
inch color television and
portable radio. Officer
J. McCaffity investigat
ed the break-in.
Later that day, Mc
Caffity was called to the
lake home of William E.
Andrews, also at Kim
ball's Point. Andrews,
a resident of Durham,
reported that a 17-inch
color television, toaster
oven-broiler, and iron
had been taken. En
trance had been forced
through the front door of
the dwelling.
On LaLe Gaston,
Deputy L. W. Newsome
investigated a break-in
at the property of C. W.
Martin, Jr. of Rich
mond, Va. Stolen from a
boat in the boathouse
were two tackle boxes
and two fishing rods and
reels.
Mrs. Ted Griner of
Manassas, Va. reported
the theft of alcoholic
beverages from her
mobile home at Eaton's
Ferry Estates. Entry
was made through forc
ing the lock on the door,
according to Deputy
Newsome.
At Wildwood Point,
Larry Conner reported
that an unlocked tool
shed had been entered.
Taken were several
pieces of fishing equip
ment. Deputy Newsome
was called to in
vestigate.
Another break-in was
reported in the Warren
ton area on Saturday
evening. Sears Bugg of
Country Club Road re
turned home to find that
a window had been
opened and a color tele
vision and heavy-duty
flashlight taken. The in
vestigating officer was
Deputy Harold Seaman.
agencies be encouraged;
—That relationships with neighboring hospitals
be established to ensure quality care at lower costs;
—That the hospital board monitor the hospital's
current financial situation to determine what ad
justments in expenditures are required;
—That involvement of business, civic groups, and
local citizens be sought in facility planning; and
—That a health needs survey be conducted in the
county within 40 days.
The hospital, which opened in 1951, has in recent
years suffered from underutilization of services and
in the last three months has experienced days when
the patient census dropped as low as five.
But according to a report prepared by the N. C.
Office of Rural Health Services, which served as
consultant to the task force, Warren General is not
alone.
Rural hospitals throughout the country are in
financial difficulty because of cost containment ef
forts and their inability to afford the specialized
personnel and equipment that has resulted from
advances in medical knowledge.
These same advances have resulted in shorter
hospital stays and have diminished the need for in
patient beds.
Reductions in the federal Medicare reimburse
ment schedules are also expected to have dramatic
impact on smaller hospitals.
The report projected that Warren General, which
depends on Medicare to cover hospitalization costs
of 70 percent of its patients, could lose a minimum
of $154,000 this year because of the changes.
The hospital has already been notified that it owes
Medicare $181,000 for overpayments made during
the 1982-83 fiscal year. (Under Medicare, a reim
bursement-based payment schedule is projected for
hospitals at the beginning of the fiscal year based on
the reimbursement in the previous year. At the end
of the year, adjustments are made based on actual
costs.)
Warren County commissioners recently allocated
$6,157 to the hospital which, when added to $40,000
the hospital had in a savings account, was to enable
it to pay the first installment of the reimbursement
which was due June 18. How the hospital will pay
the remainder has yet to bf determined.
At the meeting, task force member and County
Commissioner Jack Harris questioned whether
there was enough time and funding to implement
the task force's recommendations.
"How much longer will the taxpayer foot the
bill?" Harris asked. "I have supported the hospital
for years. But I cannot conceive of the county con
tinuing to fund an operation like this knowing that
ultimately, we'll have to lock the doors. I would love
to see every recommendation implemented. The
county needs the hospital and industry's growth is
limited without it...Still I cannot convince myself
that continuing to fund the hospital is what the tax
payer wants."
Dr. James P. Green, a Henderson physician who
has practiced in Warren County, told the group that
the time had come to decide if Warren General was
going to be a general hospital or another type of
facility.
"Why prolong the agony?" Dr. Green question
ed. "If we must have a surgical center or a birthing
center or whatever, why shouldn't we get on with it?
Close up and retool and get ready to deliver a dif
ferent mode of service."
Dr. Green also questioned the advisibility of the
hospital bringing two new physicians into Warren
County when the future of the facility is unsure.
Drs. Derek Gardner, a urologist and general
practitioner from District Heights, Md. and N.
Moses Adiele. a family practitioner from Adelphi,
Md., afe scheduled to begin their practice in
Warrentonin July.
, Hospital Board Chairman Nathaniel Davis said
after the meeting that the hospital had guaranteed
the physicians a minimum income for their first
year to facilitate the start-up of their practice, but
would not disclose the amount.
Davis, who was the only task force member to
vote against the recommendations, favored giving
the hospital 12 months to "pull us out of the red."
He was joined by Warrenton physician Kirit
Trivedi who urged that the hospital have "time to
see if it can get things under control."
Trivedi voiced concern for indigent patients who
cannot afford to travel elsewhere for hospitaliza
tion. If Warren General closes as an in-patient
facility, Dr. Trivedi commented, "we must make
sure that our people will be accepted in other
hospitals without respect to their financial ability to
pay."
Task Force Chairman and Chairman of the Coun
ty Commissioners Eva M. Clayton acknowledged
ttk.t. the hospital could not continue to operate
wit' xit "redirecting its mission."
' tie have a conscious and moral persuasion to
see what we can do," she added.
Gail Packenham with the Office of Rural Health
Services commended the task force for tackling the
problems faced by the county's hospital.
"I am concerned that the process be done well,"
she said. "I hope you will take the sufficient amount
of ttane to do it well"
The task force, which was appointed by county
commissioners, was to disband after making its
recommendations, but it voted Thursday to con
tinue in place to assist the commissioners and
hospital board in further deliberation.