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Volume 87 25° Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, November 28, 1984 Number 48
J
Average Warren County Farm Reported To Contain 197 Acres
By MARY CATHERINE HARRIS
Staff Writer
Did you know that N. C. ranks first in production
of flue-cured tobacco, cucumbers for pickles, sweet
potatoes, turkeys, and in receipts from farm torest
products? Further, it ranks fourth in burley tobacco,
peanuts, and commercial broiler production,
sixth in egg, and seventh in hog and apple production?
These statistics, which exemplify the diversified
agriculture of the state, are published in the N. C.
Crop and Livestock Reporting Service's newest
edition of agricultural statistics. Farmers who
periodically complete government questionnaires
regarding their farming operations contribute to
this annual compilation of facts and figures which
gives an overview of the status of agriculture statewide.
The latest of these publications, entitled
"North Carolina Agriculture 1984," was released
recently.
According to the report, the weather extremes of
the 1983 crop year hurt crop production. The 1982-83
winter was one of the wettest in recent history,
causing widespread delays to spring farm work and
lowland flooding in many places.
July brought high temperatures and dry conditions
and by mid-month, temperatures soared into
the 90s and low 100s statewide. Crop conditions continued
to deteriorate during August and drought
conditions existed.
Farm production during 1983 reflected the adverse
weather conditions, as crop yields were lowered
and livestock and poultry gains curtailed. The
flue-cured crop was down sharply; corn production
was less than half that of the previous year; and
soybeans, peanuts and sweet potatoes were down.
Apples, the only crop statewide to show an increase
in production, rose 144 percent above the freezedamage
1982 crop.
Warren County's farm production during 1983
followed the state trend. The exception was in corn
grown for silage, which showed a slight increase
locally. Livestock production did not change significantly
in the county from 1982 to 1983. Chickens and
dairy cattle numbers were the same, while hogs
and beef cattle increased slightly.
The 1962 census of agriculture reported 470 farms
totalling 92,281 acres in Warren County, an average
of 197 acres per farm.
The Reporting Service, a division of the State Department
of Agriculture, measures agricultural
production across the state by digesting the information
voluntarily given by participating farmers
and ranchers. The collection and dissemination of
agricultural statistics is one of the oldest activities
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and in 1919,
the N. C. Department of Agriculture entered into a
cooperative agreement with the federal counterpart.
The agreement resulted in the creation of the
reporting service division.
Rezoning
Requests
Approved
The Warrenton Planning
Board on Monday
evening voted to recommend
to the Town Board
the approval of two
requests for rezoning
which would clear the
way for the construction
of proposed apartment
complexes on the Ridgeway
Road and West
Franklin Street.
Chairman Roy Pat
Robertson presided over
the meeting, which was
called to consider the
requests presented to
the Planning Board two
weeks earlier by K and
B Walker Corporation
during a public hearing
at the Town Hall.
in considering the
firrt request to rezone
property belonging to L.
C. Cooper on the Ridgeway
Road from lowdensity
residential to
high-density residential,
the Planning Board
voted four to two in
favor of approving the
change. Opposing the
request were Mrs. Anne
Harris and Jeff Palmer,
and casting a favorable
vote were Mrs. Virginia
Andersen, Lawrence
Boyd, Lee Cheek, and
McCarroU Alston.
If accepted by the
Warrenton Town Board,
the rezoning recommendation
would allow
K and B Walker Corporation
to proceed with
plans to build a multiunit
apartment complex
in a neighborhood, the
residents of which
voiced their objection to
the proposed construction
at the public
hearing on Nov. 12.
The vote was
unanimous in approving
the second request for
rezoning property on
West Franklin Street
from medium-density
residential to highdensity
residential. This
request had come also
from K and B Walker
Corporation, which
plans to construct apartments
for senior citizens
and handicapped persons,
a subsidized
project which spurred
no public sentiment at
the Nov. 12 hearing.
Before approving the
requests, the members
heard L C. Cooper and
T. T. Clayton, representing
the developers,
name the partners of K
and B Walker Corporation,
request forwWA
§jjd not been honored at
fe public hearing. Corkg-ation
officers named
En Dr. James P.
Kan, president; L. C.
Riper, vice-president;
Ud Mrs Margaret
Itaonr, secretary. PresE|Buckley,
Marshall
^pptinued on page 10)
A mobile home in the Licksklllet community was
reduced to rubble in a Saturday morning fire which
also took the lives of a man and two boys. Firemen
from the Afton-Elberoa and Warrenton Rural Fire
Departments responded to the call and battled the
blaze for two and one-half hours. (Staff Photo)
Roof Repairs At Warren Hospital
Get Green Light From Commissioners
By KAY HORNER
News Editor
Roof repairs and interior
renovation at
Warren General
Hospital were given a
green light by Warren
County commissioners
last Wednesday night
when they accepted
three bids totaling
$186,849 for a new roof
and general construction
and mechanical
work inside the facility.
The bids were accepted
subject to approval
by the Economic
Development Administration
of the U. S.
Department of Commerce
which last March
approved a $152,000
grant to the county for
capital construction at
the hospital.
As a part of the grant
terms, the county contributed
160,000 in a
matching grant.
A breakdown of the
low bids as received by
the architectural firm of
C. Robert Shields of
Rocky Mount, which is
overseeing the project,
includes $82,000 from
East Coast Roofing &
Metals, Inc. for roofing
work; $98,000 from D.
W. Ward Construction
Co. for general construction
work; and
$6,138 from Fitts-Crumpler
Company for
mechanical work.
Shields, who presented
the bids to the commissioners,
estimated
that the construction
and mechanical work
would take about ISO
State, Local Folks
To Talk Preservation
Warren County citizens
interested in historical
preservation and
revitalization on the
local level are invited to
a meeting of state and
local officials Thursday,
Dec. 8, at 7:30 p. m. in
the Jury Roam at' the
Warrpn County Courthouse.
According to Kathy
Wilson, secretary in the
Warren County industrial
development office,
the meeting is to
form a committee to
promote historical
areas of the county and
the Town of Wairenton.
"We hope the committee
can be established to
go forward with a
preservation effort,"
she commented.
Among those
scheduled to be in attendance
are Larry
Bennett with the Historical
Preservation Foundation
of North
Carolina, Henry Sanoff
with the N. C. State
University School of
Design, and Oppie Jordan
with the N. C. Department
of Commerce.
Representatives of the
Town of Tirboro, which
recently conducted a
revitaliiation effort that
included a privately
funded multi-million
dollar retirement home,
will also be on hand.
days and the roofing
work about 45 days.
Priority is being given
to roof repair, but
Shields said he didn't
expect actual work to
begin before the first of
next year.
In recent months, the
hospital has been
plagued by low patient
census and a decline in
revenues.
The State Office of
Rural Health is currently
conducting a study to
determine how the
hospital can best meet
the needs of the community.
Although the
future of the hospital is
uncertain, county commissioners
have favored
repairs because of the
value of the facility to
the county.
In other action, the
board responded
favorably to a request
from the Warren County
Memorial Library
trustees for a maximum
of $3,800 for roof repair.
The library building on
the courthouse square
also houses the Warren
County tax supervisor's
office.
The' board also
allocated $664 to the
Coordinating Council for
Senior Citixens of Warren
County to assist with
the installation of telephones
in the newly
renovated Senior
Citixens Center. The
center, which is located
in the old vocational
center on the Hawkins
Elementary School
campus, Is almost 66
percent complete, according
to Council
Director Allen Hawks,
and should be ready for
occupancy within the
next month.
In the absence of outgoing
commissioner
Jack Harris, chairman
of the recently appointed
Capital Development
Committee, Commission
Chairperson Eva
M. Clayton reported on
the committee's first
meeting.
Among two items
given priority by the
committee were repairs
to the roof, porch and
exterior of the Peter
Davis Store, which
currently houses the
Warren County Board of
Elections and the Hendricks
Building which
houses several county
offices. The latter is in
need of repair, according
to Mrs. Clayton, to
be "safe and sanitary
for citizen use."
Fuel Efficiency
Report Is Given
The fuel efficiency of
Warren County's school
buses was cited recently
in a report issued by the
State Department of
Public Instruction.
During the 1M3-84
school year, Warren
County's buses ranked
neither below nor above
the state average, but
equalled it with 4.8|
miles per gallon of
gasoline.
According to school
transportation director
Norfleet Gardner, the
average cost-per-mile
and expenditures-pervehicle
statewide went
down a fraction over the
previous year. Gardner
(Continued on page 8)
No Foul Play Suspected
Mobile Home Fire
Claims 3 Victims
By MARY C. HARRIS
Staff Writer
An investigation has
revealed no foul play in
an early morning
mobile home fire Saturday
which claimed the
lives of a man and two
boys in the Lickskillet
community, according
to the Warren County
Sheriff's Department.
The sheriff's report indicated
that the blaze
which destroyed the
dwelling apparently
started from a woodstove
in the living room.
Charles Williams, 37,
of Rt. 2, Warrenton,
Timothy Williams, 10 of
Rt. 6, Henderson and
Henry Lankford, 11, of
Rt. 2, Warrenton were
found dead in the trailer
by firemen who had
fought the flames for
two and one-half hours,
according to spokesmen
for the Afton-Elberon
Fire Department.
Fire Chief William
Fuller, Jr. reported that
the home was fully
engulfed and the roof
was falling in when the
firemen arrived shortly
after the fire was reportedat5:50a.m.
A third youth, James
Henderson, managed to
escape by rushing out
the front door of the
mobile home after he
had awakened and felt
the fire burning his
shoulder and hair. He
did not suffer any
serious burns and
required no medical
treatment
The three boys were
apparently asleep on the
living room floor, and
Williams was asleep in
the bedroom when the
fire started. Fuller surmised
that the three
died from smoke inhalation.
He noted that it was
the worst fire that he
had seen in the several
years he had been with
the rural fire department.
Two trucks and 13
members of the AftonElberon
Department responded
to the call, and
they were joined by a
truck and seven firemen
from the Warrenton
Rural Fire Department.
• Funeral services for
the victims of the fire
will be conducted at 1 p.
m. Thursday at the
Jerusalem Baptist
Church by the Rev. A. A.
Brown. Barial will be in
the church cemetery.
Charles Unwood Williams,
a mechanic, was
the son of Peter
Williams and Matlene
Williams of Warren
County.
Surviving, in addition
to his parents, are his
wife, Mrs. Katherine
Kearney Williams; two
sons, James Anthony
Kearney of Warrenton
and James Edward
Wcodard of Henderson;
three brothers, William
Edward Williams,
Wilburt Williams, and
Preston Williams of
Warrenton; four sisters,
Mrs. Margaret Lankford
and Mrs. Marilyn
Gladden of Warrenton,
Mrs. Loretta Scott of
Henderson and Mrs.
Sharron Elam of Soul
City.
Timothy Williams is
survived by his mother
and step-father, Loretta
and Gerald Scott of
Henderson; his father,
Kenneth Christmas of
Warren County; a
brother, Carlos Scott, a
step-sister, Chanel
Scott; his grandparents,
Mr. and Mrs. Peter
Williams and Mr. and
Mrs. Grandison Christmas;
and his step
grandmother, Mrs.
Carrie Scott.
Surviving Henry
Lankford, Jr. are his
parents, Margaret and
Henry Lankford; a
sister, Patricia Lankford
of the home; three
brothers, Steven Alston
and Reginald Alston of
the home and Donnell
Jenkins of Paterson, N.
J.; his grandparents,
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Williams
and Mr. and Mrs.
Lloyd Warren of
Sedeley, Va.
Pallbearers will be
Benjamin Cheek,
Thomas McCaffity,
Thomas Jones, Jack
Harrison, Daniel Davis,
Erwin Williams, Daniel
Davis, Jr., Yarborough
Williams, William Henderson,
Gregory Williams,
Tyrone Williams,
Paul Kearney, Linwood
Williams, Casey Pernell,
Craig Hymon, Anthony
Alston, and Earl
Hayes.
The bodies will
remain at Brown's
Funeral home in
Warrenton until one
hour prior to the service.
Cramped Department
Gets Breathing Room
After 17 years in a
cramped one-room office
in the Warren County
Courthouse, the County
Sheriff's Department
last week moved next
door to new quarters in
the basement of the
County Agricultural
Building.
One of the final
aspects of the move, the
relocation of the police
radio communication
system, was completed
yesterday, according to
Betsy Frazier, office
deputy with the department.
"We'ra still unpacking,
but everything
has been moved now,"
Deputy Frazier said,
and signs directing the
public to the new offices
should be up by the first
of next week.
One of the chief complaints
by department
staff about the old quarters
was the lack of
privacy for Interrogation
and other police
business requiring confidentiality.
The department is
now housed In five
rooms with offices set
aside for the sheriff and
chief deputy.
An additional office
will be shared by an
ABC officer, SBI officer
and a license and theft
officer and quarters
have also been set aside
for the fingerprinting
process.
Renovation of the
building, which was
previously occupied by
the Warren County
ASCS office, came to a
total cost of $21,000 and
included addition of
windows, construction
of partitions, repainting
of walls and carpet installation.
The department has
also added another
telephone line and can
now be reached by
calling 257-5364 or 2572911.
Thirteen people wlO
work out of the new ,
g- InnimHiiit
UtUv5< * inc. i MviiriK cnc
orl/l rlni.ifl ■ ■
snenn ana sa deputies.
The office of the
Wmtw County Ctertt of
Court is expected to atpand
to the quarters
vacated by the SterlflTl