Qft\z Uarren Eecnrh
Volume 90 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, January 21, 1987 Number 3
Home Damaged
By Worst Town
Fire Since '85
By THURLETTA M. BROWN
Staff Writer
In what has been described by
Walter Gardner, Warrenton
Rural Fire Department captain,
as the worst fire inside city limits
since Currin Warehouse burned
in April '85, a Fairlane Street
residence was gutted Saturday
afternoon.
Members of the Warren Coun
ty Rural, Town of Warrenton and
Norlina fire departments
responded to the 3 p.m. alarm
sounded to signal blazes at the
home of Ms. Diane Stallings. The
structure is owned by Jack
Callahan. According to Gardner,
the fire originated at a cooking
stove. Approximately 80 percent
of the contents were lost and ex
tensive damage was done to the
structure. "Our reports indicate
that this is a total loss," Gardner
said. "It is possible that the
damage was made worse by
humane efforts to ensure the
escape a a pet dog by opening all
of the doors." he added. The dog
is still missing.
The Stallings fire was but one
of a series of incidents that has
kept departments busy. Also on
Jan. 17, county firefighters
responding to a morning call
found the Parktown residence of
Michael Williams totally en
gulfed by flames. The frame
dwelling, owned by Ms. Mattie
Bell Williams, was a total loss.
The tragedy is believed to be the
result of a faulty chimney in the
frame-over-log house.
In an incident of similar origin,
firemen responded Sunday to an
early morning call at the Main
Street residence of Bill Spence. A
faulty chimney was detected, but
there was no damage.
Last Wednesday morning, Ma
con Volunteer Fire Department
personnel extinguished a brush
fire involving one and one-half
acres of the Macon farm belong
ing to Doc Thompson. No damage
was done.
Monday night found firemen at
the Fairlane Street mobile home
belonging to Mrs. Herman
Hayes. They found that the
flames had been extinguished
and that all damage was con
fined to the hot water heater be
lieved to be responsible for the
incident.
Meeting Scheduled
On School Affairs
A public meeting, requested by
the Political Action Council at the
last meeting of the Board of
Education, has been scheduled
for Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
at Warren County High School.
According to Dr. Doris Terry
Williams, chair of the PAC edu
cational committee, the meeting
will provide an opportunity for
parents qnd residents to discuss
their concerns. Among those top
ics expected to be discussed are
budget, physical plant, supplies
and teacher turnover and
morale.
"We certainly hope that every
one with concerns, whether they
have children in the school
system or not, will come out
Tuesday night," Mrs. Johnnie
Johnson, PAC chairman, said.
Tax Collections
Top $48,000 Here
Warren County's net collec
tions of the two percent sales tax
for the month of November 1986
amounted to $48,969.08, according
to a recent report by the N.C.
Department of Revenue. Collec
tions statewide totalled more
than $47 million.
Totals listed in the report for
neighboring counties included:
Franklin, $127,133.31; Granville,
$170,927.98; Halifax, $329,423.66;
and Vance, $253,057.84.
With Warren, each of the ad
joining counties also collects two
cents on the dollar for sales tax.
In typical wintertime scenes in Warren County,
cattle graze on a dairy farm west of Littleton and
(Staff Photos by Dianne T. Rod well)
a tractor and harvesting equipment rest in a soy
bean field on the edge of Macon.
Names Of 65 Warren Citizens
Are Selected Here For Jury Duty
The names of 65 Warren Coun
ty residents have been drawn for
jury duty during a civil term of
Warren County Superior Court
scheduled to begin here on Feb. 9.
Richard E. Hunter, Jr., clerk of
Superior Court, said yesterday
that four jurors deferred from
previous terms were expected to
appear at the session to be presid
ed over by Judge Wiley F.
Bowen. They are Suzanne Mullen
Bumgarner, Thomas Patterson
Pinnell, Elizabeth Kearney White
and Johnnie Junious Wortham.
Selected for service were
George Edward Twitty, Lucille
Talley Goode, Jacob Everett
Whaley, Delia Rose Vaughan,
Deboria Ann Williams, Don Cur
tis Dunson, James Phillip Boyd,
Christie Gupron Shipman, Carl
Hunter Fleming, John E. Jeffer
son, Joseph Lee Terry, Linda
Susan Shearin, Kathlen Elizabeth
Overby;
Also, Catherine Sylver
Copeland, Arlene Davis, Jeffrey
Cardaze Richardson, Gwendolyn
Coltrane Brantley, Dora
Strickland Carroll, Alma Wilson
Dednam, Joel Anthony Valen
tine, Henry Travis Pulley, Bren
da Dorcell Seward, Pearl Horton
Paynter, Felicia Ann Richard
son, Gerald Wayne McCoy,
Elizabeth Cheek Brown;
Also, Marvin Peete Rose,
Eleanor G. Ellis, Leon Haint
zelmon Francis, Carrie Houston
Spruill, Sallie Williams Johnson,
Addie Beatrice Alston, George
Edmond Long, Kimberly Ann
Richardson, Sandra Edwards
Short, Gladys McCau Terry, Ar
vin Johnson, Elizabeth Hicks
Young, Jane Wilson Newsome;
Also, Martha Edd Hedgepeth,
James Gilbert Walker, Jessie
Bailey, Jr., Thurman Ruth
Hargrove, Elizabeth Collier
Wrenn, Mary Evers Aycock, Let
tie Brown Palmer, Pamela
Renee Perry, Julia Huff Wheeler,
Ronald Eugene Green, Dale
Katherine Cutting, Robert Sher
wood Beamon, Aaron Marcus
Allen II;
Also, Geneva Christmas
Hymon, Elizabeth Holloway
Myrick, Hazel Walker Williams,
Robert Hardy Marlin, Jr., Moses
Lee Kearney, Gene Moses
Russell, John William Dryden,
Dennis Ray Paschall, Nettie
Pitchford Meador, Chester Aur
thur Forrester, Pattie Townes
Richardson, Wilbert Cleveland
Vaughan and Cleon Hawley.
King's Birthday Is Observed
The fact that North Carolina is
one of the twelve states in which
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
birthday remains unrecognized
as a holiday did not prevent coun
ty residents from attending the
celebration held Monday after
noon at All Saints' Episcopal
Church.
The Rev. Leon White, guest
speaker and pastor of Oak Level
UCC, challenged all in atten
dance to keep the dream alive.
"It is good that we have come,"
he said, "and that our nation has
made this a holiday, but we must
reflect on what the day means as
we go about our business."
The multi-denominational ser
vice brought ministers from
other area churches: the Rev.
Donald J. Wess of Coley Springs
Baptist Church, the Rev. Ed Bed
dingfield of Warrenton Baptist
Church, the Rev. P. G. Davis of
Union Grove and Olive Grove
Baptist churches, the Rev. J. B.
Wilson of St. Zion Baptist Church,
the Rev. W. H. Burgess of St.
James Baptist Church and the
Rev. W. T. Ramey, III of
Ridgeway and St. Stephen's Bap
tist churches, whose reading of
exerpts of King's speech, "I Have
A Dream," was reminiscent of
the actual event.
Music was provided by the
combined choirs of Coley Springs
and Oak Level churches.
According to the Rev. Henry
Presler, vicar of All Saints' and
Emmanuel Episcopal churches,
proceeds of the offering will go to
benefit recipients of the King
Memorial Scholarship. "Hie fund
is designed to help needy and
deserving students in their flrst
year of college," he said.
Divers Recover
Stolen Property
Assisting Sheriff
By MARY C. HARRIS
Staff Writer
Volunteer scuba divers last
week helped to lock up a case for
the Wirren County Sheriff's
Department as they located and
took from a creek on the Halifax
Nash county boundary a cash
register taken during a recent
break-in in Warren County.
Divers with the Lake Country
Dive Team, in a jump from the
Swift Creek bridge on Highway
43, found after three minutes
underwater a part of the cash
register taken on Dec. 31 from
Buddy Overby's Grocery in the
Vicksboro community, according
to a report in the sheriff's depart
ment. Minutes later the divers
located the remaining portion of
the stolen item.
Acting on a tip that the register
may have been thrown into a
creek along the highway, Sgt.
Lawrence Harrison with the War
ren County Sheriff's Department
engaged the dive team last
Thursday to look for the stolen
register which remained a key
piece of evidence in the case.
The team's initial dive from the
Fishing Creek bridge on Highway
43 in Halifax County proved futile
and the members moved several
miles southeast to make a second
jump into Swift Creek, where the
evidence was located. Everett
Vaughan of Souih Hill, Va. was
credited with the find.
Other Lake Country divers par
ticipating in the search were Rich
Knisely, Bryan Perry, Tony
Faucette, Jim Shiller and Chris
Thompson.
Serving in an official capacity
with Sgt. Harrison during the
dives was Deputy Will Richard
son of the Halifax County
Sheriff's Department.
Four Littleton men were
charged last week in the break
ing and entering incident at Over
by's store. Charges against a fifth
person are pending.
Sheriff Theodore Williams ex
pressed appreciation to the dive
team for their willingness and
praised their efforts in assisting
his department in the
investigation.
In another sheriff's report,
Ernest B. Harris of Inez reported
22 cattle missing from pasture he
rents on Highway 158 between
Warrenton and Macon.
Barry Eugene Murphy, who is
employed by Harris, reported the
animals missing last Wednesday
after he fed and counted the herd.
Murphy noted that on the
previous day his count had tallied
two short, but he had attributed
the difference to an error in coun
counting. On Wednesday when
the count was considerably less
than the expected number, he
filed a report with the sheriff's
department.
Deputy Mack McCowan. in
vestigating officer, asked that
anyone with information regard
ing the missing cattle contact
the Warren County Sheriff's
Department.
Norlina Location
Found By Agency
Western Union Telegraph Com
pany this week announced that
telegraph and money order
transfer service is now available
in Norlina.
The Odd Shoppe on Hyco Street
in Norlina is now acting as an
agent for Western Union and the
service is available from that
location, a company spokesman
said.
The hours of operation are
from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday
through Saturday. Kevin Cham
pion, The Odd Shoppe proprietor,
said he is very pleased to be
associated with Western Union
and he invited all residents of the
Norlina community to take ad
vantage of the new services being
offered.
County Official
Files Bankruptcy
Notice was served last week
that James T. Fleming, Sr. of
Warrenton has declared bank
ruptcy.
Fleming, a member of the
Warren County Board of Com
missioners, has been active here
for a number of years in the con
struction and real estate
business.
Word has been sent to his
creditors by the clerk of the U. S.
Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern
District of North Carolina that
Fleming is seeking relief under
Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the U. S.
Code.
According to Clerk Peggy B.
Deans, a meeting of creditors has
been set for 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 at
the U. S. Courthouse in Raleigh,
Income Said Up
ROCKY MOUNT?Peoples
Bancorporation this week
reported net income of $8.3
million in 1986, in increase of 16.2
percent over 1985.
Peoples Bancorporation is the
parent company of Peoples Bank
and Trust Company
i County High School students selected m
i far the North Carolina Governor's School
are, Ml to right, Ginger Meek, Rana Paynter,
Miss Meek and Paynter were nominated on the
buii of academic performaace, while ??%
Governor's School wflD be made la the
(Commaalty Schools Photo by Mary Hooter)