Ularrfli 3Stenrii
Volume 87 25* Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, October 24, 1984 Number 43
Two Killed
In Warren
Road Wreck
A Saturday morning
accident two miles west
of Warrenton on the
Henderson Road
claimed the lives of two
Henderson teenagers
and injured two others
when the car in which
they were riding went
out of control and struck
two trees.
Alonzo Durham, 16,
and Samuel Lee Brown,
18, died at the scene of
the accident, according
to Trooper C. E. Lockley
of the N. C. Highway
Patrol.
The injured were Dur
ham's brother, William
W. Durham, Jr., 20, and
Andrea Solomon, 19,
both of Henderson. They
were taken by ambu
lance to Warren General
Hospital and later trans
ferred to Duke Medical
Center, where both
remain as patients.
On Tuesday after
noon, a spokesperson for
the medical center
listed Durham's con
dition as satisfactory.
Solomon, who is being
treated in the hospital's
burn unit, is in serious
condition, according to
the report.
The accident occurred
at approximately 4 a. m.
as the car traveled east
on State Road 1001 at an
apparent high rate of
speed, Lockley said. The
driver lost control of the
vehicle, causing it to
leave the road on the
right side. Upon impact
with two trees, the four
occupants were thrown
from the car.
The automobile burst
into flames and was
destroyed as a result of
the accident.
Trooper Lockley
reported that he w.u
unable to determine the
driver of the vehicle at
the time of the accident.
Charges are pending in
the investigation, he
stated.
The old Warren County Jail, located at the corner
of Bragg and East Macon streets in Warrenton, Is
the subject of concern for Warren commissioners
because its age prevents It from being in compli
ance with certain state regulations. The original
portion of the masonry jail was built before the Civil
War. (Staff Photo)
Age Of Warren County Jail Problem
In Trying To Meet State Standards
By KAY HORNER
News Editor
The age of the building housing the Warren Coun
ty Jail is one of the factors preventing the Sheriff's
Department from being in full compliance with
state requirements for operation of such a facility, a
representative of the Sheriff's Department told
county commissioners at their mid-monthly
meeting Wednesday.
In the absence of Sheriff Theo Williams who was
on vacation, Mrs. Betsy Frazier, Secretary and of
fice deputy, presented suggestions by Robert G.
Lewis, area jail consultant with the N. C. Depart
ment of Correction (DOC), made after an inspec
tion last June. Mrs. Frazier also brought the board
up-to-date on the county's progress in complying.
"Unfortunately, some things we are not in com
pliance because of the age of the facility," Mrs.
Frazier explained, noting that the cost of bringing
the facility up to standards in all areas would not be
feasible.
The original part of the building at Bragg and
Macon Streets, which also houses other county
agencies including the Warren County Ambulance
Service, was built in 1852. The wing housing the jail
was built more than 75 years ago.
Among the deficiencies cited by the state are:
—Cell areas which do not conform to the
minimum standard square footage requirements
nor the minimum bunks per cell requirement. The
cells at the jail are designed to accomodate six
prisoners each and the state recommends a
maximum of two prisoners per cell. There are a
total of six cells and 26 bunks at the jail. Mrs.
Frazier noted that more than two are housed in a
cell only when the jail is full.
—Lack of safety vestibules where searches are
conducted and prisoners processed.
—Lack of secure visiting areas, medical clinic
area, and secure conference area for attorney or
clergyman visits with prisoners.
—Lack of showers in the downstairs confinement
area necessitating the transfer of prisoners up
stairs. When this transfer takes place, Mrs. Frazier
said, a deputy is called to assist.
Several items recommended by DOC are curren
tly being priced by the department for possible pur
chase. They include tamper proof covers for light
bulbs, a hollow metal security door to replace the
wooden door at the main entrance of the booking
and processing area; and an additional walkie
talkie to provide outside communication if phone
service is disconnected.
The department already has complied with
several requirements cited in the June report, in
cluding the replacement of non-secure plate glass
windows, documentation of annual inspections by
the fire marshall, and purchase of additional fans to
keep termperatures in the jail at 85 degrees or
below in summer.
The state also recommended that a second set of
jail keys be moved from the Sheriffs Department to
the Warrenton Police Department's dispatch office
to allow accessibility at all times. However, Mrs.
Frazier said that due to the traffic at the dispat
cher's office, the sheriff felt it inadvisable to keep
keys there. All deputies currently have access to
jail keys, which are kept at the Sheriffs Office, Mrs.
Frazier said.
George Shearin, vice chairman of the board, ex
pressed concern about the county's inability to meet
state standards with the current jail.
"We're going to have to build a new facility to be
in compliance with all state regulations," Shearin
told the board. "As bad as we hate to spend the
money...we're going to have problems for a long,
long time if we don't."
The jailer's report to the commissioners was the
first in 10 years, Mrs. Frazier noted, although in
spections are made annually.
Warren Employee
Accepts New Job
Alvin R. Salmon, War
ren County electrical in
spector and zoning ad
ministrator, has
resigned to accept a
position with Virginia
Electric and Power
Company.
Warren County com
missioners, meeting in
mid-monthly session
last Wednesday night,
were given notice of
Salmon's resignation,
which will become ef
fective Oct. 31.
Salmon, 35, has been
electrical inspector and
zoning administrator
here since June, 1983.
He will be a service
coordinator with VEP
CO, and will be assigned
to Roanoke Rapids.
Married to the former
Cynthia Ay cock of Lit
tleton and a resident of
RL 3, Littleton, Salmon
said yesterday that he
plans to continue to live
in Warren County and
commute to his new Job.
A graduate of Little
ton High School, Salmon
attended technical
college in Wake County,
where he received a
degree in civil engineer
ing. He was employed
by the N. C. Department
of Transportation, first
in Henderson and later
in Raleigh.
Salmon is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Salmon of Rt. 3, Lit
tleton.
New Building
Is Planned By
Warrenton Firm
John Bunch, manager
of Standard Motor
Parts, has announced
plans for relocation of
the Warrenton store
from North Main Street
to East Macon Street.
Bunch said Tuesday
that preparation for
construction of a new
building should begin
later this week on
property purchased
from Mrs. Nancy Harris
Echols and located on
the Warrenton side of
The Burger B-rn. The
target date for opening
for business in the new
building is mid-Decem
ber.
In the new facility, the
business will be operat
ed by the staff currently
working in the North
Main Street store. J. D.
Wright will continue as
manager.
The Warrenton
branch is one of five in
the Standard Motor
Parts chain. Other loca
tions are Henderson,
Oxford, Reidsville and
Yanceyville.
Road Help Again
Sought At Meet
Two residents of the
1.6 mile Minnie Yancey
Road at Soul City were
once again before coun
ty commissioners Wed
nesday to seek help in
upgrading their un
paved road.
Perdue, Inc., one of
the landowners on the
rural road, has in the
past refused to sign the
necessary right-of-way
petition for the state to
consider adding the
road to its system.
But Willie and Robert
Davis told the board
that they would be hap
py just to get the road
graveled and graded.
Bringing the road up
to state standards would
coat between $90,000 and
$100,000, according to
Department of Trans
portation officials in
Warrenton last April to
present the state's 1984
85 road construction
schedule. The cost, they
said, cannot be justified
in light of other trans
portation needs in the
county.
County officials had
hoped that the Warren
ton Unit of the National
Guard could be called
into service to help
gravel the road, but
County Manager
Charles Worth said
Wednesday that due to
the Guard's other priori
ties, work on the road
would be a "long,
drawn-out thing."
The board pledged its
continued support to the
seven families on the
road. Worth had been in
touch with Sen. Monk
(Continued on page 14)
Board Urged To
Avoid A Penalty
Work Must
Begin Soon
If work is begun to cap
the Warren County
sanitary landfill by the
November 1 deadline
mandated by the state,
the county may be able
to avoid a costly
penalty, Joe Lennon,
Warren County health
director told the Board
of Commissioners Wed
nesday.
The cost of capping
the landfill has been
estimated at $20,000, ac
cording to County Man
ager Charles Worth. The
county was first notified
of the need to cap the
landfill on Sept. 25 and a
second notice was
received on Oct. 11.
The county has $8,000
carried over from the
1983-84 budget ear
marked for the project
and the commissioners
authorized the county
manager to proceed
with the project until
those funds were
depleted.
The county hopes the
Warrenton Unit of the
National Guard will be
able to assist in the
project, and Lennon
suggested thr' General
Claude Bowers, retired
adjutant general of the
N. C. National Guard
and a Warrenton
resident, might be able
to lend assistance in
making arrangements.
The dirt to be used for
the cap is already at the
landfill, Worth said.
Lennon said he felt the
state would be less in
clined to impose a
penalty on the state if
some effort had been
made by Nov. 1 to begin
the project.
In another matter, the
board heard a request
from Warrenton Attor
ney A1 Thompson,
chairman of the Warren
County Memorial
Library Board of
Trustees, for county
assistance in repairing
leaks in the roof of the
library building.
The library, which
was built by the federal
Emergency Relief Ad
ministration in the early
1930s, is on property
owned by the county but
is under a 99-year lease
to the library.
The cost of the repairs
has been estimated at
*3,800.
The building was con
structed at no cost to the
county, Thompson ex
plained, but through the
years the county has
contributed to the
library and until this
year purchased its fuel
oil.
The county tax super
visor's office is housed
in the basement of the
building and Thompson
said there had been
some seepage into that
office.
"There has been a
tradition of the county
assisting the Library
Board," Thompson
commented. "The '
library provides a coun
(Continued on page 14)
Shown at her desk is Ms. Denise M. Runde as she
assumed her duties as administrator of Warren
General Hospital on Tuesday. A native of Sparta,
Wis., Ms. Runde is a graduate of the University of
Wisconsin and the University of North Carolina. She
has served in the administrative departments of
hospitals in the Bronx, N. Y. and Albany, N. Y. and
served for two years with the U. S. Peace Corps in
Colombia, South America. (Staff Photo)
New Administrator
Named At Hospital
Nathaniel Davis, Jr.,
chairman of the Board
of Trustees of Warren
General Hospital has
announced the employ
ment of Denise M. Run
de as the administrator
of the hospital. Ms.
Runde assumed her
duties October 23.
Ms. Runde, a native of
Wisconsin, comes to
Warren County after
serving as an adminis
trative intern at Saint
Peter's Hospital in
Albany, N. Y. and as ad
inistrative resident at
Calvary Hospital, a
hospital for the termi
nally ill in the Bronx, N.
Y. She holds a Master's
degree in Public Health
from the University of
North Carolina.
The employment of
Ms. Runde is a part of
the overall effort of
the Warren County
Commissioners, the
hospital Board of
Trustees and the N. C.
Office of Rural Health
Services to meet the
health care needs of
Warren County resi
dents. As a part of this
effort, both the current
health care patterns of
the populace and desir
able patterns for the
future will be explored,
Davis noted.
Mrs. Eva Clayton,
chairman of the County
Commissioners sought
the assistance of the N.
C. Office of Rural
Health Services to take
a look at the patterns
and potential earlier
this year and to help find
an appropriate replace
ment for Frank Hinson
who formerly adminis
tered the hospital. As a
result, James Bern
stein, chief of the Of
fice of Rural Health
Services, agreed to
assist the board in locat
ing an outstanding ad
ministrator and to
provide a technical
assistance team to back
up such a candidate.
That team, according to
Bernstein, will be com
posed of himself, Dr.
Cranstoun Reinoso, a
hospital management
consultant and Stuart
Fine, administrator of
(Continued on page 14)
Agent Picked
F6r Grant Try
At a brief called meet
ing it 5:30 p. m. Mon
day, the Board of Com
missioners of the Town
of Warrenton selected L
E. Wooten Company of
Raleigh as town agent to
handle a $7,500 Com
munity Development
Block Planning Grant
for the Town of Warren
ton.
Other companies
seeking to become the
town's agent in handling
the grant were Talbert
Cox and Associates of
Raleigh and Dewberry
and Davis of Greenville.
The vote selecting L
E. Wooten was unani
mous. Commissioners
present And voting were
Gordon Hatthcock, C.
M. White, m, Bobby
Edmonds, Phil Daniel
and Eddie Clayton.