WarrentonMem.Library X
117 S .Main St.
Warrenton, N.C. 27589
?lje Uarren Eecorfc
Volume 94 , 25c Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, July 12, 1989 Number 28
Local Mansion
Is Utilized As
Site Of Filming
By THURLETTA M. BROWN
News Editor
A keen ear listening on Friday
of last week could probably have
heard a man bark, "Lights,
action, camera!" had its owner
been near the Church Street
home of Mrs. Mary Hinton Kerr.
The Kerr home, located at 216
Church Street in Warrenton, had
been selected by the manage
ment of Erickson Photographers
of Raleigh as just the "quin
tessential Southern mansion"
needed for its ad campaign for
the Cadillac Dealers Association.
Raleigh-based Erickson pro
duces photographs used nation
wide in advertising campaigns.
Built in 1908, the Kerr home had
attracted the attention of Leslie
Bailey, production manager, dur
ing her review of the "Walking
Tour Of Warrenton" brochure.
According to Mrs. Kerr, a lady
appeared with props early last
Friday afternoon. Among those
props were a collection of red
geranium plants to adorn the
porch and entryway of the Ken
home.
Later that evening, two men
arrived who placed rocking
chairs on the front porch, re
moved the green screen door and
gave a good polish to the name
plate adorning the home. "They
had really good ideas about what
they wanted to do," Mrs. Ken
said.
Once the props were in place,
all lights were turned on inside
the home and the photo-session
began.
But one important prop was
missing from Friday's session:
the Cadillac. That important
feature will be added by the
graphic artists at a later date.
For her trouble, Mrs. Ken
received an honorarium of $100.
She also got to keep the beautiful,
red geraniums and has been
promised a copy of the finished
photograph to be used in the
Cadillac's marketing campaign.
All of this is rather fitting: Mrs.
Kerr's husband, the late John
Kerr, had always driven black
Cadillacs.
Six Incumbents Here
File For Board Seats
By THURLETTA M. BROWN
News Editor
With the exception of Warren
ton's elected officials, area in
cumbents have not been "beating
down the doors" to file for seats
in municipal elections.
The filing period began on Fri
day, July 7, and will extend until
noon on Aug. 4. The elections will
be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Six of Warrenton's town com
missioners filed Monday night:
A. A. Wood, W. A. Miles, Bobby
Edmonds, Ray Shearin, Charles
White and Eddie Clayton. Mayor
B. G. White on Tuesday threw his
hat into the re-election ring. At
press time, Commissioner Phillip
Daniel was out of town. When
polled at the end of last month,
however, Daniel said he planned
to seek re-election.
But in nearby Macon and
Norlina, no incumbents have
filed.
Karen Henry, Macon town
clerk, said Tuesday that neither
Mayor M. C. Clary nor commis
(Continuedonpage4)
Attend Retreat
The Warren County Board of
Education and Superintendent of
Schools Dr. John W. Thompson
returned Tuesday afternoon from
a two-day retreat at Trinity
Center, a conference center
owned by the Episcopal Church
in Salter Path.
The board convened Sunday
evening for dinner, and business
sessions began early Monday
morning and lasted through
Tuesday around noon. The pur
pose of the retreat was to discuss
school operations for the coming
academic year.
A butterfly takes advantage of both food and shade as it clings to a
tiger lily during one of the hot and hazy days which have accom
panied July in Warren County. (Staff Photo by Phyllis H. King)
Meeting Held At Buck Spring
Plans For Poultry Festival
Are Discussed On Tuesday
By DIANE DAVIS
Staff Writer
"Poultry production is an ex
tremely large part of agriculture
in Warren County."
That's the reason Russell King,
director of the Warren County
Agricultural Extension Service,
gave for planning a poultry
festival in Warren County.
Approximately 23 community,
civic and business leaders from
in and around Warren County
were present at a luncheon
workshop held at Buck Spring 4-H
Camp Tuesday afternoon to pro
vide input, planning information
and implementation procedures
for developing a Warren County
Lake Gaston Poultry Awareness
Festival.
The idea, first brought to the at
tention of King by Mrs. Belle
Bright, a Warrenton resident,
was the focus of attention at the
luncheon, which was sponsored
by the Warren County Inter
Agency Committee.
"I just didn't understand why
the leaders of Warren County
didn't recognize that poultry pro
duction was a large part of their
income," she said.
Programs about the growth of
the poultry industry in the coun
ty and state were presented by
King and by Dr. Tom Carter, a
poultry specialist with the N. C.
Agricultural Extension Service.
A catered barbecue chicken
lunch sponsored by the Warren
County Economic Development
Commission was provided by
Ralph's Barbecue of Weldon.
Gary Robenolt, an Inter
Agency committee member,
discussed tentative plans for the
festival. An ideal location would
be Buck Spring 4-H Camp, he
said, to stay in line with the idea
of having the festival be a "fami
ly affair." Possible activities in
clude a petting zoo, a chicken
cook-off, egg cooking contests,
egg decorating, pontoon boat
rides and the crowning of a
poultry queen.
"The festival would promote
one of the major industries in the
county," said Robenolt. "It would
bring in a large number of peo
ple who may be interested in
spending money in the coun
ty. . ? that's what it's all
about."
Several business and civic
representatives present com
mitted themselves to serve on a
planning committee for the
festival. These persons included
Butch Bolton and Jim Harris,
broiler supervisors with Perdue;
Dean Andrews of the Warren
County Jaycees; George Koonce
of Warren County 4-H; Howard
Tomlinson of the I^ake Gaston
Chamber of Commerce; Jan
Tomlinson of the Lake Gaston
Ladies Club; Gyde Johnston of
the Littleton Jaycees; Walter
Gardner of the Warren County
Fireman's Association; Russsll
King of the Warren County
Agricultural Extension Service;
Gary Robenolt of Warren Coun
ty Emergency Management;
Belle Bright; and Dee Weaver of
the I^ake Gaston Water Safety
Council.
Norlina Commissioners
Accept Bid Of $290,785
Improvements
Can Now Begin
By THURLETTA M. BROWN
News Editor
The acceptance Monday night
of a $290,785 bid submitted by
Greenville's Hendrix-Barnhill
Company means "all signals are
go" for Norlina's water systems
improvements and the replace
ment of asbestos-laced transite
water lines. The work is expected
to be done without an increase in
water bills or the town's 50-cents
per-$100-valuation tax rate.
In the absence of commis
sioners James Knight and Walter
Newman, the Norlina Board of
Commissioners voted unani
mously to accept the revised bid.
When the three bids received
were opened in a called meeting
held June 29, Hendrix Barnhill
had submitted the lowest bid of
$310,385?an amount far greater
than the $232,000 which had been
anticipated for construction. The
lower amount had been esti
mated earlier by Wooten Com
pany engineers, following studies
of the project.
After a meeting with Hendrix
Barnhill officials on July 5, the
original construction bid of
$310,385 was lowered to $290,785.
That reduction was made possi
ble by eliminating borings under
the SCX Railroad ($15,000), cut
ting in half the estimate for rock
excavation ($2,500) and using
steel sleeves instead of cast iron
tapping sleeves for the planned
connections ($2,100).
Although the Wooten construc
tion contract totals $290,785, the
total cost of the project has been
estimated at $344,895. The addi
tional line items are engineering
fees ($39,110), legal and adminis
trative fees ($6,000) and con
tingency ($9,000).
A $275,000 FmHA loan will fund
the lion's share of the project.
The Department of Transporta
tion will provide $44,300 and the
Town of Norlina will be responsi
ble for $25,595. According to
Mayor Bill Delbridge, the town
(Continued on page 8)
Zoning Code Change Too Late
To Stop Funeral Home Plans
By DIANE DAVIS
Staff Writer
Warrenton residents who live
on South Main Street may find
themselves with a funeral home
in their neighborhood, if a
Lumberton man follows through
with his plans.
The Warrenton Planning Board
at a public hearing held
on Thursday of last week gave
their recommendation to the
Warrenton Town Board of Com
missioners to delete funeral
homes from medium density
(R-12) areas. However, it was
determined that their action may
be too late to prevent a funeral
home from opening in a South
Main Street home.
Douglas McMillan, a Lumber
ton funeral home operator, has
paid what Grace Miles, a War
renton realtor and planning
board member, calls "earnest
money" toward the purchase of
the former W. R. Baskervill
home as a show of good faith.
However, the sale of the home
has not been closed, she said.
The commissioners, at their
regular monthly meeting Mon
day night, adopted an amend
ment to the town's zoning or
dinance that ieletes funeral
homes from the list of permitted
uses in R-12 districts.
While the amendment could
prevent funeral homes from
opening in residential districts in
the future, the 12 residents at
tending the public hearing were
told that a privilege license had
already been issued for a funeral
home to open in the former
Baskervill home.
In addition, Town Ad
ministrator Vernon R. "Pete"
Vaughan said the permit fee had
already been paid.
Those at the hearing who spoke
out against the proposed funeral
home on South Main Street in
cluded Julius Banzet III. Banzet,
in a letter written to the planning
board, said he lives in an R-12
district and feels that many of the
town's citizens do not want a
funeral home in their neighbor
hood.
Several other Warrenton
residents agreed with Banzet.
"We owe it to our forefathers to
keep the values of our property
up," said Lillian Ellington.
Bill Spence, who lives "across
the street next door" to the pro
posed funeral home site, said he
is concerned the funeral home
would create an increase in traf
fic on South Main Street.
"It's a narrow street to begin
with," he said.
Belle Bright said the situation
should be given a lot of considera
tion. "I certainly wouldn't want
one (funeral home) next door to
me," she said.
When the attending citizens
were asked if there was anyone
present in favor of permitting
funeral homes in R-12 areas,
there was no response. But
citizens did ask the question of
why planning board members
had allowed funeral homes to be
permitted when they revised the
town's zoning ordinance in 1985.
Eddie Q. Clayton, a Warrenton
town board member, said the or
dinance had been rezoned by
state guidelines.
"Now is the time to correct the
problem rather than criticize.
Don't point a finger at any one
person,".he said.
Col. John Jenkins, a planning
board member, said the meetings
when the ordinance was being
revised were open to the public,
"but no one came then."
There are five funeral homes in
Warrenton, and all of them are
located in either Office and In
stitutional (0 k I) or Highway
Business (C-2) districts.
Sheriff T. R. Williams looks over 30 marijuana plants which range
in height from six to eight feet and have an estimated street value
of about $30,000. The plants were harvested last Friday by Warren
County Sheriff's officers, assisted by two helicopters flown by Na
tional Guard personnel. The plants were located in the Drewry com
munity and at an undisclosed site along SR1001. Local officers who
worked in the Marijuana Eradication Project were Chief Deputy B.
D. Bolton, Sgt. Harold Seaman, Det. R. A. Coleman and deputies W.
T. Winston, Sean Brake and Scott Bissette.
(Photo by Brenda Clarke)
Warren Road Improvements
Expected To Cost S300.000
Residents and other motorists
by late fall will be able to feel
more secure as they navigate
turns from a stretch of US 1 in
Norlina.
A contract for $111,804 was
awarded on Friday of last week
to S. T. Wooten of Wilson to con
struct a 0.3-mile, center-turn lane
along a congested area of US 1.
The contract was awarded by the
N. C. Board of Transportation to
widen to three lanes a portion of
US 1 between US 158/401 and
Hyco Street.
According to Bill Jones, N. C.
DOT communications specialist,
work is scheduled to begin in mid
August, with completion planned
by mid-November.
Action was also taken by the
board on seven resurfacing proj
ects, which had been delayed at
last month's meeting. Approval
was given to a $475,928 bid by
Wooten for combined contracts
for Warren, Vance and Franklin
counties.
Jones said that Warren Coun
ty's portion of the contract totals
about $300,000. The roads to be
resurfaced are: (1) 8.5 miles of
SR1620, from US 401 to SR 1625;
(2) 2.62 miles of SR 1357, from US
158 to NC 903; (3) 0.4 mile of SR
1300, from US 1 to SR 1305; (4) 1.5
miles of SR 1305, from SR 1300 to
SR 1306; (5) 2.55 miles of SR 1360,
from SR 1305 to SR 1309; (6) 0.11
mile of SR 1534, from NC 4 to the
Halifax County line; and (7) 0.5
mile of SR 1337, from SR 1362 to
the end of the pavement.
According to Jones, the con
tracts were part of a $59 million
package for major highway proj
ects affecting both urban and
rural portions of the state.
Examiner's Visit
Follows Inquiry
Acting on inquiries from a
reporter employed by this paper,
W. T. Tomlinson, State Board of
Examiners of Plumbing and
Heating Contractors field
representatives, visited the War
ren County Inspection Depart
ment on Thursday of last week.
Tomlinson had been contacted
as a part of research being done
on ARC Construction for a story
on the SBI investigation of al
leged financial improprieties in
the Quick City Revitalization
Project ARC had been one of the
firms used in both the Quick City
and Mecklenburg County re
habilitation efforts.
(Continued on page I)