Newspapers / The Warren Record (Warrenton, … / June 28, 1989, edition 1 / Page 1
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'arrantonMem.Library X 117 8.Mala St. larrenton, N.C. 27589 Harren i&ztatb v ? Volume 94 25? Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, June 28, 1989 Number 26 High winds from Friday afternoon's storm caus ed a limb from a large tree to break and fall on several cars in Peggy Stevenson's yard on Ridgeway Street. Although no estimate of the damage to the vehicles was available, three of the five cars damaged were said to have crushed wind shields. The other cars were dented and scratched. (Staff Photo by Diane Davis) Fire Is Blamed On Lightning Friday Storm Belts Portions Of County By DIANE DAVIS Staff Writer "It was a dark and stormy night . . At least it was in Warren Coun ty Friday afternoon when heavy rains, strong winds, thunder and lightning made their way through Warren County. Around 5 p.m., strong rains began to fall and caused flash floods both inside and outside of the Warrenton city limits. On Fairview Street in Warren ton, the sewage drains were reported to be clogged, with water standing about three to five inches in the roadway. On Ridgeway Street, just out side of the town limits, water col lected in the roadway as a result of nearby fields draining. The Warren County Department of Transportation was called to help clear the excess water from the road. Lightning was the cause of a fire at Peck Manufacturing, ac cording to Kenny Clayton, chief of the Warrenton Rural Fire Department. Clayton said that around 6:30 p.m., lightning apparently struck pipes joining a small structure to the main building and caused wooden beams in the plant's ceil ing to catch fire. Clayton said that several employees had reported smelling something burning. One pumper and 14 men ar rived on the scene. Clayton said firefighters had to climb on the roof to get to the fire. After pulling roofing material off, firemen were able to get to the fire to extinguish it. "The potential was there for a large fire," Clayton said. "But we were able to keep it wet and keep the flames down." Damage to the building was estimated between $1,500 and $2,000. Firemen were on the scene about an hour and a half, he said. Lightning also caused nearly 2,000 Warrenton residents to be without power. Two feeder lines on Hwy. 401 North in Afton were down because of fallen trees that had been struck by lightning. James Parnell, Carolina Pow er and Light's local manager, said customers in the Norlina area were also without lights because of trees which had fallen on a main feeder line. He reported that there were several scattered outages. All customers on the three feeder lines had their power restored within 15-20 minutes, with the re maining cases restored by 9 p.m. David Proctor, manager of Halifax Electric Membership Corporation in Macon, said one of the main circuits at the Eaton's Ferry Substation was tripped. He said 468 customers were affected, but had their power restored in about an hour. Proctor reported scattered outages throughout HEMC's ser vice area. Most of the customers had their service restored within two hours, he said. (Continued on page 10) Tax Increase Is Approved The Warrenton Board of Com missioners unanimously ap proved the town budget for 1969-80, which includes a five-cent tax increase. The tax rate, which has re mained unchanged for nearly a decade, will rise from 55 cents per $100 valuation to 60 cents per $100 valuation. In a special called meeting on Monday at 5:45 p.m. at the Town Hall, a motion to approve the budget was unanimously passed, with no changes being made from the initial proposed budget presented by Town Administra tor V. R. (Pete) Vaughan. The budget will go into effect July 1. Major items in the budget in clude a five-percent pay raise for town employees, $12,100 for a new pickup truck and pipe locator for the water department and $3,000 for walkie-talkies for the police department. Inmate Facing Murder Charge In Pines Death A Warren County man?in jail already on charges of non support?has been charged with the murder of a Norlina man. Thomas I-ouis "Tink/Tinky" Jiggetts, 25, of Rt. 1, Warrenton, 011 Thursday of last week was charged with first-degree mur der. The arrest warrant was served at the Warren County Jail by Chief Deputy Bobby D. Bolton and SBI Field Agent David A. Bridges, following their investi gation of the death of Franklin Joenathan Alexander. Alexander, 36, of Norlina, on April 22 had been found shot to death in the back of his van. The vehicle has been parked at The Pines Apartments in Norlina. Following Alexander's murder, bomb threats resulted in the evacuation of a number of resi dents from the complex. Details of the investigation which led to Jiggetts' identifica tion as a suspect were unavail able at press time. The suspect remains confined in the Warren County Jail without benefit of bond. Tools Are Stolen A Littleton man had $1,170 worth of tools stolen from his truck at the Littleton Volunteer Fire Department Tuesday night. Michael H. Corwin, 31, of Rt. 1, Littleton, reported a Sachs Dolmar chainsaw valued at $460, a tool box valued at $25 and $685 of other hand tools stolen from his pickup truck parked in the fire department's parking lot. IV Warrcnton Lions Club held an awards ceremony Friday night at the Lion's Den and la stalled the 1MM9 officers. David Proctor, left, received a past president's award. David Gardner, center, was installed as the dab's new president, while Dorsey Capps received the LJoa of the Year award. (Staff Photo by Howard Jones) Town Officials Are Polled Candidates Eyeing Filing Period Opening By THURLETTA M. BROWN News Editor Although candidate filing will not begin until July 7 and area voters will not be summoned to the polls to pick their town com missioners and mayors until elec tion day on Nov. 7, plans are be ing made now by the incumbents who hold those positions now. With the exception of Warren ton Mayor B. G. White and Com missioner A. A. Wood, all mem bers of the town board of com missioners are sure of their plans to throw their hats into the ring again. Mayor White, who before serv ing as mayor for 10 years, served 20 years on the town board, said Monday that he has not made a decision about running for reelec tion. Commissioner A. A. Wood also said he had not yet made a decision, but "would know when filing time arrives." Those Warrenton town com missioners who said they are planning to seek re-election are Eddie Clayton, Charles M. White, W. A. Miles, Phillip Daniel, Bob by Edmonds and Ray Shearin, Jr. Warrenton's commissioners receive a stipend of $600 per year for attending regular and called board meetings. In addition, they are eligible for optional health in surance, paid by the town. Begin ning on July 1, the monthly premiums paid for those who opt for coverage will be $90.67 per person. In nearby Macon, all but the board's only female member have decided to run for re election. Mrs. Katherine Hilliard said Monday that she will not be a candidate in November. Mayor M. C. Clary and com missioners Glenn Riggan, Carroll Harris, W. L. Edwards and Row lette Shaw said Monday that they all plan to file as candidates. Macon commissioners receive $10 for each regular meeting at tended and $5 for each called meeting. No insurance coverage is provided. The intentions of incumbents in Norlina are still "up in the air" with only Commissioner Walter Newman saying Monday he would "probably run again." No decisions have been made yet by Mayor Bill Delbridge and commissioners Dwight Pearce, William Leonard, James Knight or James Vaughan. In Norlina, commissioners re ceive $25 for meetings attended. They are alsQ eligible for liabili ty insurance coverage, which costs the town $1,800 for all of its officials. In addition, the mayor is eligible for a $100 monthly ex pense allocation. The filing period for candidates will begin at noon on Friday, Ju ly 7, and close at noon on Aug. 4. Loss Is Over $9,000 Free Milk And Cheese Out For Warren Pupils The plates of Warren County's school children could be minus over $9,000 in USDA bonus items next year, following the govern ment's decision to cease giving free processed cheese and dry milk to public and private schools. But according to Mrs. Ann Killian, retiring child nutrition director, that amount will prob ably be reduced by items already on hand. In addition, very little dry milk is used by Warren Coun ty Schools. Effective July 1, USDA will cease giving processed cheese and dry milk to the nation's public and private schools. The free, bonus items had been dis tributed in years past after being "stockpiled"in the midwest by USDA. Now that those supplies have been reduced and farmer support programs revised, the bonus foods will no longer be free to the nation's school children. According to Mrs. Killian, USDA foods are given to school systems based on a 12-cents-per plate-per-child formula. In the 1987-88 school year, Warren County Schools received pro cessed cheese valued at $11,455 and dry milk valued at $968. In stead of always being provided in bulk form, however, some of the cheese allocation has been given in the form of cheese-garnished pizzas. The value of all USDA foods?among them frozen meats and fruits, canned vegetables and fruits, and flour? received here in 1987-88 was $73,541. A final report for the value of USDA foods received in the last school year has not been completed. Next year's allocation of dry milk and cheese would have been based on an inventory report cur rently under preparation. An estimate of the value of the two discontinued items the county would have received in the next academic year is $9,661. Mrs. Killian is retiring from her post as child nutrition direc tor for Warren County Schools, following an 18-year tenure with the system. Her last day in the central office will be Friday of this week. Residents Speak Harshly Of Tax Increase Proposal By DUNE DAVIS Staff Writer More than 10 persons spoke out against Warren County's pro posed 1989-90 budget at a public hearing held on Wednesday night of last week in the Warren Coun ty Courthouse. In addition, County Manager Charles Worth, who has sug gested an $8.74 million budget with a nine-cent increase in the present tax rate of 80 cents per $100 valuation, came under fire by citizens who claimed he hasn't been doing the job for which he is being paid. The county commissioners are expected to approve the budget in a special meeting on June 28. Harry Howard, interim superintendent of Warren Coun ty Schools, praised the board for its continued commitment to education, but also told them the school system would need the $77,000 which Worth has propos ed to cut from the system's cur rent expense budget. This money, Howard said, could be obtained by transferring it from the expansion budget, which has been recommended at $148,000, into the schools' current expense budget. Others speaking out against Worth's proposal included residents from the Lake Gaston area. Joseph O'Brien, a Dove Manor resident, told the board that he was upset over their $240,000 in crease in welfare for the county. "Instead of an increase, you should make it more difficult and harder to get," he told the board. He also said that reducing the amount would get those people who are now on assistance working. Wallace Brown, a real estate agent, said a major corcern of prospective buyers is the tax rate within counties surrounding the lake. He said Warren County wouldn't be considered when these buyers realize the tax rate here is higher. (Continued on page 10) Drug Enforcement Officer is Sought The Warren County Board of Commissioners was requested to include funding for a full-time drug enforcement officer in the county's budget for the coming year. This matter, which was presented by Chief Deputy Bob by Dean Bolton in the absence of Sheriff Theodore Williams, was discussed during a closed ex ecutive session during the board's mid-monthly meeting held on Wednesday night of last week to discuss personnel. Initial costs for the position have been estimated at $38,000, to include a one-year salary plus a patrol car and related equip ment. The officer would have the regular duties of a deputy but would concentrate on drug in vestigation cases. The board took no action on the request but ia expected to discuss the matter at a special meeting to be held today (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. at the Warren County Courthouse.
The Warren Record (Warrenton, N.C.)
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June 28, 1989, edition 1
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