Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / June 24, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
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?ij? Harmi Hecarb Volume 90 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, June 24, 1987 Number 24 Objections Not Heard At Hearing No objections were heard in last Wednesday's public hearing concerning proposed amend ments to certain Warren County subdivision regulations. The hearing had been called because the language of the cur rent certification form appeared to give blanket approval to an en tire subdivision. The recommended revisions would simply certify that a preliminary evaluation had been conducted, which should not be misconstrued as universal ap proval to all lots. In addition, the language of the owner's dedica tion form would be modified to clarify types of service and in stallation dates. Warren County commissioners are expected to approve the revi sions at their mid-monthly meeting tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. Attorney Seeks To Sell Home Of County Manager Plans of an Oxford attorney to offer for public sale the Soul City home of Warren County Manag er Charles J. Worth have been revealed in a document posted Friday in the Warren County Court House. Notice of the sale, scheduled for noon on July 16, was posted following foreclosure proceed ings against Worth and his wife, I^aurie G. Worth, heard before Warren Clerk of Court Richard E. Hunter. The action was begun by Robert K. Catherwood of Ox ford, an attorney representing Beneficial Mortgage Company of N.C. Beneficial officials contend that Worth defaulted on a note for $18,400. In order to satisfy the indebtedness, the company en tered legal proceedings aimed at the public auction of the Worth home, located on Macon Circle of Green Duke Subdivision I in Nutbush Township. Middleburg Auto Accident Claims Its Third Victim Johnny Briley Newell, Jr., 15, of Rt. 1, Norlina died Monday at Duke Medical Center in Durham where he had been hospitalized since a traffic accident which also claimed the life of his mother and another Norlina woman last week. Newell had been listed in critical condition since the Tues day night accident which oc curred about 8 p.m. on U.S. Highway 1 a mile north of Mid dleburg in Vance County. His mother, Mrs. Peggy Newell, 36, and Mrs. Cynthia Wheeler Harvey, 24, were killed instantly in the two-vehicle wreck in which heavy rains from an evening thunderstorm appeared to be a contributing factor. The Newell vehicle was heading north on U.S. 1 when it hydroplaned on water in the highway, crossed the centerline and was struck by the Harvey automobile. Three persons injured in the accident remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon at Duke Medical Center and were all listed in stable condition by a hospital spokesperson: Harold L. Newell, 13, who was a passenger in the vehicle driven by his mother, and Robin Harvey, 9, and Stephanie Lynn Wheeler, 6, passengers in the Wheeler car. Another passenger in the car operated by Cynthia Wheeler, Jessica Lynn Harvey, 25, of Norlina, was discharged from Maria Parham Hospital in Henderson on Thursday. Funeral services for Johnny Briley Newell, Jr. will be con ducted at 2 p.m. today (Wednes day) at Zion United Methodist Church by the Rev. Tim Russell. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The youth was a junior at War ren Academy and a member of the basketball team. He is survived by his father, Johnny B. Newell, Sr. of the home; one brother, Harold Ijee Newell of the home; maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Lee Lynch of Norlina; and paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Norman H. Newell of Norlina. Pallbearers will be Tolly Ran dall Harris, Paul Harris, Bobby Tate, Joe Ross, Johnny Ross, Jr. and Lamar King. Arrangements are by Blaylock Funeral Home. JOHNNY NEWELL Warrenton police officers Robbie Ayscue and Sara Solorz view a hole in the wall at Floral Designs which an intruder made early Satur day morning in order to gain entrance to the adjacent business, Loughlin-Goodwyn Jewelers. The officers, who have been on duty less than a month, met the suspect when he departed the building with merchandise valued at more than $16,000. The suspect is being held in Warren County Jail under $5,000 bond and was due to appear in district court today (Wednesday) on two charges each of breaking and entering and larceny. (Staff Photo by Howard Jones) Alertness Of Rookies Credited In Break-In The alertness of three rookie law enforcement officers ap parently thwarted the weekend attempt of a Warren County man to walk off with more than $16,000 in merchandise from I^oughlin and Goodwyn Jewelers on North Main Street. In Warren County Jail under $5,000 bond and charged in the in cident is Johnny Frank Davis, 41, of Warrenton. In addition to charges of breaking and entering and larceny at the jewelry store, Davis is charged with breaking and entering an adjacent business, Floral Designs, and also with larceny at the flower shop, according to Policeman Robbie AyscUe. The officer suspected trouble in the area as he made rounds about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Ayscue, who was assisted by fellow officer Sara Solorz along with Deputy Ronnie Baskett of the Warren County Sheriff's Department, said the officers staked out the building after he had noticed a broken window in the rear of Floral Designs during a routine check of the alley which runs behind the row of businesses in the 100 block of North Main Street. The surveillance paid off when the suspect allegedly walked out the back door of the flower shop with a cardboard box containing merchandise from the jewelry store and was met by Of ficer Ayscue. The officer said entry had ap parently been made through the bars across the broken window at Floral Designs where candy was reportedly taken and a check was found out of place. Evidence sug gested the suspect made a hole in the wall to gain entry to the ad joining store where nearly a clean sweep, with itemized value of $16,414, of jewelry contents was made, according to the officer's report. A preliminary hearing for Davis in Warren County District Court was scheduled for today (Wednesday). Forgery charges are pending also against the suspect. Reception Slated A reception in observance of the arrival of the U. S. Olympics Festivel-'87 torch carriers will be held on Tuesday, June 30, at 3 p.m. at the Warren County Courthouse Square. Mayor B. G. White and repre sentatives of the Warren County Board of Commissioners will welcome the torch carriers at 3:10 p.m. Charles J. Worth, county manager, said the Warren Coun (Continued oi, page!) Proposed Tax Increase Hit Citizen Displeasure Erupts At Hearing By KAY HOKNEK Feature Editor Warren County commissioners at a public hearing Wednesday night heard cries of foul from citizens displeased with the pro posed 1987-88 county budget. The budget calls for an in crease of more than a million dollars over the current operating budget and an eight cent boost in the ad valorem tax rate. Jack Foster, who lives on l^ake tiaston, noted that commis sioners in neighboring North ampton County and in Roanoke Rapids and Weldon had this year held the line on the tax rate. ' My property taxes four years ago were $440 and now they're $771," Foster said. "We had a revaluation, which we were told would hold the rate down, but it continues to increase." Foster added that the only ser vices residents around the lake received from the county were the fire department and rescue squad, both volunteer services, and garbage pickup. "And garbage pickup is the worst I've seen anywhere," he commented. William Brauer, a farmer, told the board that the ad valorem tax rate penalized the farmer. Flic fanner pays three times the tax anyone else pays for the privilege of making a living in Warren County," Brauer said. In commenting on the increases in the budgets of the health and social services departments, Brauer suggested, "If we want more services, we should have an income tax, not a property tax." Former Commissioner Jack Harris spoke at length on specific departmental and salary in creases in the budget. He termed funding of the coun ty's emergency preparedness of fice a "complete waste," and urged elimination of funding for private organizations, including lakeland Cultural Arts Center in Uttleton. He also expressed opposition to funding a Recreation Depart ment "until there is money to justify footing the bill." Harris also opposed merit in creases and suggested that a five percent across-the-board in crease could be given "without budgeting one more penny." His suggestion that the board pare down the budget and leave the tax rate as is brought a stand ing ovation from the filled courtroom. Merit raises and increases in salaries due to upgrading of posi tions, which involve selected employees and positions, was a bone of contention at the hearing. Mary Bunch Smiley, an employee of the Department of Social Services, questioned the "system utilized to select employees for salary increases and percentages received...There is no merit pay scale in effect and while I do not begrudge any employee getting a raise, I would like a clarification." The hearing was limited to citizen comment, and no rebuttal was allowed. But in an interview this week, County Manager Charles Worth said that in the absence of a countywide uniform pay plan, which would classify jobs and determine salary ranges for each job, he had sought to deal with inequities on a depart ment by department basis each year. "We have done it as a gradual process," Worth said. "This year, we sought to correct some ine qualities in the finance office and the health department. I^ast year it was social services." The county manager, emergen cy preparedness director, finance officer and health director are among those slated for increases ranging from five to 20 percent. Betsy Frazier, office deputy with the Sheriff's Department, told the board that despite train ing that took her from secretary of that department to deputy, she had received no salary increases based on qualifications. "To replace me, you would have to pay someone a higher salary," Deputy Frazier re marked. She urged establish ment of a uniform pay plan, Michael Rich, member of the Board of Social Services, Bill Lamberson, social services employee, and department direc tor Charles Haywood, all spoke on the need to upgrade salaries in that department. "Adequate compensation would eliminate turnover and result in better services to those socially and economically de prived." Rich said. Health Director Dennis Retzlaff made an impassioned plea for funding to combat what he called the county's greatest health hazard. "It's the lack of hope of a bet ter life and a good life," Retzlaff said. "Our children have so very little to hope for because of economic deprivation and social circumstances...This county budget is above all an investment for the future of Warren County." Oxford attorney Floyd McKissick, a member of the Warren County Economic Development Commission, ex pressed concern that industrial and economic development had not been adequately funded in the budget. McKissick called for the abolishment of the Town of War renton, citing the duplication of services by town and county as an expense that could be avoided. "We need a plan like Oxford has for bringing industry in because without that, we can forget about all these other things," he said. Warrenton attorney and former state representative Frank W. Ballance, Jr. suggested that the commissioners "start with last year's figures and allocate where the needs are." The commissioners, who heard the public's comments in the absence of Chairperson Eva M. Clayton and Commissioner William T. Fleming, are required by law to adopt a 1987-88 budget by July 1. As proposed, the budget calls for an overall increase of $1,097,643 from $6,165,747 last year to $7,263,390. It also provides for an increase in the ad valorem tax rate from 73 cents per $100 valuation to 81 cents. The board is scheduled to meet tonight for its mid-monthly ses sion, postponed from last week. But Worth said Monday that adoption of the budget was not on the agenda. The board will have to call a special session to meet next Tues day's legal deadline for having the new budget in place. The building which from 1894 until 1931 served as the Areola School is being taken apart piece by piece under the direction of Areola resi dent Clinton Capps. Capps said the building is on property given to Bethlehem United Methodist Church by George W. Davis with the provision that the building be taken down. According to Lula Hunter Skill man's "The Story of Areola," a one-room structure was built in 1894 and two large rooms were added at the front in 1912, followed in 1922 with the replacement of the one original room with two rooms at the back. The last year of school operation was 1931, under the in struction of the late Beaufort Davis Scull, according to the records of Mrs. Ski 11 man, Areola native who now lives at Methodist Retire ment Home in Durham. The donor oi the property to the church was one of the pupils during the last year of school operation. In more recent years the building has served for numerous community func tions. (Staff Photo by Howard Jones) Local Prowler Is Linked With Assault Attempt Reports of a prowler brought Officer Sara Solorz to the S. Main Street residence of Mrs. Lillian Ellington Monday night. Responding to the second call placed by the family that night, a call indicating that the prowler had returned, Officer Solorz in vestigated at 12:45 p.m. reports that a man dressed in blue jeans and a red T-shirt had been sighted at the Warrenton residence. The man, described as being 5'8" and weighing between 165 and 170 pounds, was alleged to have attempted to assault Mrs. Ellington's daughter. Although a thorough search was conducted by Officer Solorz and assisting deputies Ronnie Baskett and Clarence Adcock, the man was not sighted. Officer Solorz has urged residents not to attempt to in vestigate such occurrence* themselves, but, in the intor?t ?f personal safety, to call the War renton Police department.
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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June 24, 1987, edition 1
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