Newspapers / The Warren record. / Feb. 8, 1989, edition 1 / Page 1
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?arrentonMea. Library X 117 S .Main St. Warrenton, N.C. 27589 barren Eeoirii Volume 94 25* Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, February 8, 1989 Number 6 Black District Court Judge Object Of Bill The merits of a bill aimed at providing a black district court judge in the Ninth Judicial District, which includes Warren County, is being debated at a committee of the North Carolina Senate and its sponsor thinks prospects of the measure's passage are good. The bill's sponsor? State Senator Frank W. Ballance of War renton? told Warren County officials Sunday that passage of the bill could bring about the "integration of the bench" in this area of the state. Currently four district court judges? all white? serve the Ninth District, which is comprised of Warren, Vance, Franklin, Granville and Person counties. Senator Ballance told Warren County commissioners who were conducting a day-long retreat Sunday at Henderson Point on Kerr lake that he was prompted to introduce the new judge ship legislation by the fact that there is currently a high volume of cases in the district court system, and that the com position of the district bench does not reflect the fact that 40 percent of the residents of the district are black. Last year, a black candidate for the Ninth District judge ship? Attorney Willie S. Darby of Granville County? lost in a second primary to Henderson Attorney Weldon Lloyd. Senator Ballance told a reporter for The Warren Record on Sunday that should the bill be passed, it would be up to Gov. Jim Martin to rppoint the new judge. Senator Ballance said he felt Governor Martin understood the intent of the bill and would appoint a black man to the district court bench. The senator told commissioners that the new bill, one of the first ten introduced in the State Senate this year, has provoked no controversy and is winding its way through the Senate's Judiciary II Committee. Senator Ballance, chairman of the Senate ABC Committee, represents only Warren County among countics comprising the Ninth Judicial District. He has introduced similar legisla tion calling for creation of a new district court judgeship in the counties east of Warren which comprise the remainder of his Second Senatorial District, which he said is equally divided between white and black residents. Monday Vote Provides Hope For Expansion Warren County commission ers Monday morning way for construction of a 35,00U square-foot addition to Cochrane Furniture Company when they gave unanimous approval to tne issuance of up to *4.5 million in industrial revenue bonds. The bonds, which will he issued by the Warren County In dustrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority, will not constitute an obligation or indebtedness of the county and will be repaid solely by Cochrane Furniture. Commissioners gave their ap proval to the bond issuance after a 10-mlnute, cut"aI^^r'^ public hearing during which Bob Harold, manager of the Lincoln ton-based company's Warrenton operation briefed the board on expansion plans. _ . , t The expansion, expected to begin soon on a 50-acre tract on the northern edge of Wa^enton, will provide a rough null for the manufacture of furniture dimen sion stock, the enlargemera erf finishing space, and the related equipment. Harold said that initially the new facility will allow for the hiring of five new employees, and that number should grow to 50 within five y Cochrane, which has 208 em ployees at present, will be paying wages in excess of the county's average hourly manu facturing wage of 15.81 to the new employees. . Harold said the new addition will allow the Warrenton plant to produce 80 percent of its <^e"" sion stock requirements, and that much of the lumber used here would be bought locally rather than in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia. He said the addition would be a high tech one and that he had confidence In the local wort force's ability to operate the computerized equipment. Warren's Economic Develop ment Director Cathy Wilson told commissioners that the P1"?^ expansion would be Cochrane s with Cochrane for five that the local plant ted <J*b^ U^tionshehaa worked. He said ^Warrenton plant has ''an ex cellent retention of employees. Two Stores Along Main Street No Longer Without Occupants Two of Warrenton'i Main Street properties will no longer be vacant a* two area businesses begin to take occupancy in preparation (or opening their doors for tales and services. Weco's and Odom's Flower Shop will return to Its original poat at the corner of East Macon and South Main streets, after a period of operation at the Norlina Lareknark. The relocation, which is expected to be completed by . . .. Ju.. Feb. II, has been planned to pro vide more space for the restau rant activities at the Norlina site. L. R. West Plumbing, Heating and Cooling is moving from its former quarters, the site of the old Red & White Grocery, to 110 South Main Street. West's former location is to be the site of a family restaurant to be opened soon by Mrs. Jeanette Fleming. The difference a couple of days can make this time of year is shown dramatically in these two photographs. The picture at left was taken Friday as temperatures hovered around the 80-degree mark, and the photo at right was taken Sunday morning, when the mercury plunged below freez ing and Warren County's trees were encrusted with ice. (Staff Photos by Phyllis H. King) Above Average Growth Is Seen In 1988, the number of customer telephone lines in Carolina Telephone's Warrenton exchange grew by 5.5 percent, reflecting the economic growth experienced here during the year, according to John Byrd, district Community Relations manager. There were 3,371 customer telephone lines in service in the Warrenton exchange at the end of 1988, an increase of 176 over those in service at the end of 1987, he reported. Byrd said, "The growth in the Warrenton area compares with a 5.0 percent average growth in Carolina Telephone's service area, which itself is exceptional when you consider that approx imately 93 percent of residences in Carolina Telephone's service area already I ~ve telephone ser vice. Ninety percent penetration is considered to be just about a saturation point for telephone service. The national average growth in customer telephone service in 1986 was 2.6 percent and only 1.3 percent in 1987, ac cording to latest figures from the U. S. Telephone Association." The gain of more than 35,000 telephone lines in 1988 was a record for Carolina Telephone. The previous record for line growth was in 1986. The company at the end of 1988 had a total of 737,000 access lines in service. Carolina Telephone is a wholly owned subsidiary of Onited Tele communications Inc., a diver sified telecommunications com pany headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. , and is a member of the United Telephone System which services more than 3,000 com munities in 19 states. By Norlina Citizens Gears Put ln_/y\otion For Bond Referendum By THURLETT A M. BROWN News Editor Passage on the second reading of two resolutions Monday night by the Norlina Board of Town Commissioners has set the final gears in motion for the town's $300,000 bond referendum to repair the water conduit system there. Prior to the "yay" votes by the board, nine Norlina citizens had come to the town hall for a public hearing called to receive their comments. In his introductory remarks, Mayor Bill Delbridge outlined the history that had led to the referendum. Since last February, the town has recog nized that the old asbestos-laced transite pipe through which Nor lina's water supply travels was in need of replacement. Prior to Delbridge's assumption of the mayoral seat, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had conducted a study that proved the parts-per-million ratio for asbes tos in the water was too low to warrant concern. But the town fathers' concern for safe water for Norlina's citizenry, coupled with an annual maintenance ex penditure of |8,000 to breakage in the pipes, led to the move toward replacement of the old transite pipe Senate Bill 110 funds in the amount of $380,000, the original estimate, were pursued first for the project. Three tiers of proj ects?sewer treatment, water treatment and water transite? were the criteria used for dis bursement of the $5 million ap proved by the legislature. "But since ours was in the third cate gory, Norlina's request was kicked out," Delbridge said. The next step was an applica tion for a Farmers Home Admin istration (FmHA) loan. Revised estimates of the project have placed the cost at $274,000. With the possible $1,800 savings from the discovery of 1 J- inch pipe in place already on Terrell Street, coupled with other factors, the actual amount spent may be closer to $336,08t$?0,000. The bond issue will request the sale of up to $900,000 in water bonds, an increase to provide contingency funds in the event that rock is en countered or other unexpected problems occur. "If some of the money is left over, what will it be used for?" the Rev. Dennis Sheppard, who was present for the public hear ing, asked. "We won't borrow one nickle more than what is actual ly necessary," Delbridge said. FmHA lending guidelines for its 6.375-percent funds require that a town indicate its intent to raise taxes or water bills in an amount sufficient to pay back the loan. "But we will not need to raise taxes or our water/sewer bills," Delbridge said. To amor tize the loan over a 40-year period, payments of about $17,000 will be required each year. Ac cording to Delbridge, replace ment of the asbestos pipe with PVC pipe will all but negate repairs, for a savings of about $8,000 each year. "We've got $120,000 in water reserve and at eight-percent interest, that should net us about $10,000 each year." The mayor also said the 40-percent of the local option (Continued on page 2B) Guns Are Stolen In Manson Theft A Rt. 1, Manson man has reported the disappearance of almost $1,500 in personal proper ty, Sheriff Theodore Williams said this week. According to the report, James Reid, Jr. reported that unau thorized entry had been gained into his residence, Which is located at the corner of SR 1218 and Burchette's Chapel Road, by persons who had pried open the front door of the structure. Reported missing were one Curtis Mathes VCR valued at $515, one Winchester automatic 12-gauge shotgun valued at $320, one Stihle chain saw valued at $480, one Remington 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun valued at $80 and one Winchester automa tic .a calibre gun valued at $88, for a total value of $1,484. Deputy W. S. Biaaette it the investigating officer. Board Exploring Greater Service For Lake Citizens Efforts to improve the de livery of county services to Lake Gaston residents came under discussion by Warren County commissioners on two succes sive days this week, and al though no official action was taken, board members indicated that they would continue their drive for greater services in this fastest growing area of the coun ty. Calls for the appointment of a magistrate who would be head quartered at Lake Gaston were heard Sunday? when commis sioners held an all-day retreat and work session at Henderson Point on Kerr Lake? and on Monday? when the board gath ered in regular session at the Warren County Court House. An attempt to have Chief Resi dent Judge Robert H. Hobgood of Louisburg appoint a magi strate who would be assigned to the lake area was delayed until the next board meeting in order for board attorney Charles John son to determine the proper pro cedures to be followed. The move to secure an addi tional magistrate for Warren County was first discussed Sun day, when Board Chairman Eva M. Clayton, herself a resident of Lake Gaston, told fellow board members of the need. She said that she had learned wildlife of ficers felt that their efforts to en force hunting and fishing laws in the area would be enhanced if a resident magistrate were avail able in the area. Warren County currently has three magistrates, with offices in Warrenton and Norlina. Sala ries of magistrates are paid by the state, but office space must be furnished by the county. On Sunday, commissioners briefly discussed the feasibility of moving the Hendricks Build ing now located behind the coun ty court house in Warrenton to an area near the lake, but arrived at no decision. They also talked of utilizing space in the Lake Gaston Chamber of Com merce Building on the north shore of the lake. Commission ers were told that chamber of ficials had offered use of the building previously. Also discussed Sunday was the possibility of housing a sheriff's dispatcher in the lake area, as well as a representative of the Health Department and Inspec tion Department charged with assisting in lakeside develop ment. Commissioners talked about the possibility of placing all of Warren County on a 911 emer gency number system, and of trying to provide toll-free tele phone service to county resi dents not now on the Warrenton exchange. Chairman Clayton, during a related discussion of environ mental issues on Sunday, said consideration might be given to requiring subdivision developers to establish an attractive spot within the subdivision where one or more large trash receptacles might be placed by the county. Among actions taken by the commissioners at their Monday session were the following : ? The board authorized tax re leases and refunds of under (100 which had been approved by the county manager. ? Commissioners listened as a County Government Week pro clamation was read by the coun ty manager and afterwards agreed to designate the week of Feb. 30-34 as County Govern ment Week in Warren County . ? Commissioners appointed Joseph Richardson to a full three-year term on the Warren County Board of Health. Earlier commissioners had tapped Richardson to complete the un expired term of the late Rev. Don Wess, which expired shortly after Richardson's initial ap pointment. (Continued on page 10) JONES Interim Post Goes To Jones At a recent meeting of the Northampton Board of Educa tion, Jasper Washington Jones was named acting superinten dent of the Northampton County Schools. Jones is a native of Wise. He is a graduate of Warren County Training School and Shaw Uni versity, where he obtained a B. A. degree in American history and French. He also holds a graduate degree in American history and educational administration from New York University. Jones is currently employed as principal of Squire Elementary School in Gaston. Lone Fire Reported Only one brush fire in the Embro community has com manded the attention of the War renton Rural Volunteer Fire Department, Kenny Clayton, fire chief, said Tuesday afternoon. According to Clayton, the inci dent occurred last Friday at the Embro residence of Thomas Woodrow Wilson. Ashes from a wood-burning stove had been placed at the edge of a field and the wind had caused sparks to ig nite. The wind began to push the flames toward three nearby resi dences and personnel from the Forestry Service and Macon Rural Fire Department were summoned to ensure that the structures were protected. Personnel remained at the site for about one hour to make cer tain that all flames had been ex tinguished, Clayton said. Teenager Arrested The Warren County teenager reported missing since mid January in last week's edition of this newspaper is scheduled to appear in Warren County district court today (Wednesday) to answer a charge of probation violation. Miss Shoney Pulley, 16, of Rt. 1, Manson, had been placed or. probation following disposition at cases relating to two counts of shoplifting the from the Rite Aid and Super Dollar stores here. She had last been seen on Jan. IS. After being sighted walking in Warranto! last Wednesday, Mm Pulley wu confined In the War ren County Jail under a |S00 bond. Sgt. Lawrence Harrison f
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