Newspapers / The Warren record. / July 26, 1989, edition 1 / Page 1
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"arrentonl!c*i ? ?> ??* s.n.u x m* faen Kztotb Volume 94 25? Per Copy Warrenton, County Of Warren, North Carolina Wednesday, July 26, 1989 Number 30 DWI Conviction Rate In Warren Slightly Below State Average By DIANE DAVIS Staff Writer The conviction rate for motorists prosecuted in the 9th Judicial District for driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more is slightly below the state average. Statistics show that during 1988, the conviction rate for the 9th Judicial District?which in cludes Franklin, Granville, Per son, Vance and Warren coun ties?was 88.04 percent. The con viction rate statewide was 89 percent. District Court records show that it pays not to drink and drive in Person County, the county with the highest conviction rate in the 9th Judicial District. The conviction rate for Person County during 1988 was 98.1 per cent. Actually, 103 defendants were found guilty and two found not guilty. This represents a not guilty percentage of 1.9 percent. District Court sessions in Person County are held in Roxboro. Next highest in the 9th District was Granville County with a con viction rate of 90.6 percent. That's based on 106 defendants found guilty and 11 found not guil ty. The percentage for those found not guilty is 9.4 percent. District Court sessions in Gran ville County are held in Oxford. Franklin County had a convic tion rate of 88.3 percent and a not guilty percentage of 11.7 percent. Those figures represent 151 defendants found guilty and 20 found not guilty. District Court sessions in Franklin County are held in Franklinton. Vance County had a conviction rate of 77 percent, with 204 de fendants found guilty of driving while impaired. Twenty-three percent, or 61 defendants were found not guilty of driving while impaired in Vance County District Court sessions held in Henderson. Warren County had a convic tion rate of 86.2 percent, just below the statewide average of 89 percent. Last year, there were 106 found guilty and 17 found not guilty. This resulted in a not guil ty percentage of 13.8 percent. District Court sessions in Warren County are held in Warrenton. According to the 1988 statistics?all taken from court records?30,236 motorists were convicted during the year of driv ing with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 or more. A total of 3,737 drivers?or 11 percent of those charged with driving while impaired?were found not guilty. Conviction records are based only on the number of DWI cases adjudicated by the courts for a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more. Bond forfeitures are counted as convictions for the purpose of driver's license revocations. Not included in the statistics are cases in which defendants registered a blood alcohol concentration of less than 0.10. Perquimans County, which han lied only 26 DWI cases of 0.10 blood-alcohol concentration or more, led the state with a convic tion rate of 100 percent. Motor Vehicles Commissioner William S. Hiatt in the report cau tions citizens against forming opinions about the outcome of DWI cases based solely on con viction rates Armed Robbery Near Manson Nets Pair $500 Two suspects are still at large in connection with an armed rob bery Monday afternoon at Boyd's Shell station at the Manson exit off 1-85, according to Chief Depu ty Bobby Dean Bolton of the War ren County Sheriff's Department. Bolton said Tuesday that two black males are being sought on descriptions given by Sadie Boyd of Manson, who was managing the store at the time of the robbery. According to Bolton, the men entered the store just after 4:30 p.m. One suspect carried a hand gun and ordered the clerk to give him the money in the store's register. When she failed to do so, the man took her and her daughter to a back room and ordered them to lie on the floor, while the second man rambled behind the counter and took the money from the register. The cash taken was estimated at $500, Bolton said. Following the robbery, the suspects cut the telephone line and were last seen walking down the northbound exit ramp to the interstate highway. They are believed to have gotten into a vehicle with a brown top, heading north. Both suspects were dressed in casual clothes and had short hair, one described as in his mid-20's and the other in his late-20's or early 30's, according to the ac count given by the store clerk. Bolton said the local sheriff's department is working with the Brunswick County, Va. depart ment, which is investigating a similar robbery there last week. Larceny Charges Are Filed Following Theft Of Currency Larceny charges were filed against a Warren County man Sunday after he allegedly robbed an area convenience store Satur New Day Care Center To Open The Community Development Corporation has announced the opening of its new day care center for the elderly on September 5. It will be located in Warren County on Lakeview Court behind Lakeland Cultural Arts Center. Hot meals and snacks will be served. It is the first intergenerational day care program in North Carolina and offers rewarding contact between children and the elderly who may desire contact with children. There will be generous, fenced in outdoor space. Depending on location, transportation may be provided. For more information or enroll ment, contact Venetta Grant, 566-4546, evenings 566-3358. day night, according to a Warren County Sheriff's Department report. Charles Tunstall, 27, of Rt. 1, Norlina, remains in Warren County Jail under $5,000 bond. Deputy J. M. Alston made the arrest. Officers responded just before 8 p.m. Saturday to a call to the Best Bet store on U.S. 158 Business north of Warrenton. Cashier Karen Allen of Manson reported she had been working in the store away from the front counter when she saw standing behind the counter a man whom she identified as Tunstall. Ms. Allen reported she was afraid to speak to the man, but observed as he walked out after several minutes, that he placed a tele phone call from a booth in front of the store and walked off. She called authorities after he left. According to the sheriff's report, a stack of $20 bills total ing at least $540 was taken from the store. The cashier said she had just counted the money and had been preparing to secure it in the safe when the incident oc curred. Demolition of the old brick building used for many years to house vocational classes, par ticularly agriculture classes, on the John Graham School campus began on Wednesday of last week. Paul Kearney, operator of a War ren County landscaping company, operates a bulldozer as he works to tear down the last wall sections. The building had not been used for several years, and earlier this year the Warren County Board of Education author ized its razing. (Staff Photo by Howard Jones) Walter Gardner Enters Race; Contest Assured The election for the Warrenton Board of Commissioners has become a race with the filing of a new candidate this week. Walter M. Gardner, Jr. filed with town election officials Mon day morning for a seat on the seven-member town board. He is the first non-incumbent can didate to file for that office. All seven current board members have filed for re election, along with Mayor B. G. White. Gardner serves as vice presi dent of Warrenton Insurance and Real Estate and is a member of the Warrenion Rural Fire Department. He is also a Warren County Jaycee and president of the Warren County Firemen's Association. Gardner said Tuesday morning he has been considering filing for a seat on the board for awhile. He said he wants to bring new ideas to the board and wants to get in volved with town operations. In the past, Gardner has attended several board meetings and has made recommendations for the board's action. In Norlina, no one has filed for positions on the town board, while W. Rowlett Shaw of Macon has filed for a seat there. Non-partisan municipal elec tions will be held Nov. 7 in War renton, Norlina and Macon. A mayor and board of town com missioners will be elected by a majority vote in each munici pality. Shopping Center Still Is Planned Plans are still on the front burner for a Raleigh real estate firm to develop a tract of land at the intersection of U.S. 158 Business and U.S. 158 Bypass. Bruce Reeve, an agent with Drucker and Falk, a Raleigh based real estate firm, said on Friday of last week in a telephone interview that the option on the more than 20 acres of land owned by Tom Williams has been renewed and is good through the end of this year. The previous option expired at the end of June. Although Reeve said there is a strong possibility for developing a shopping center and some hous ing on the land, he could not say when his firm would take action. "We're trying very hard to develop that piece of land. ... it may be 30 days or it may be four months." Previously, plans for a shop ping center plaza and a con dominium housing development were being considered by the real estate firm. Health Department Gets Rental Space By THURLETTA M. BROWN News Editor Progress is being made toward the renovation of the former War ren General Hospital building, following action taken Thursday night of last week by the board of county commissioners. Approval was given to the blue print designed by Gantt-Huber man Architects of Charlotte for renovations to the Warren Medi cal Facility. The cost of the renovation has been estimated at $1.3 million and will involve demolition of parts of the existing structure, the construction of a 2,550-square-foot addition, as well as access drives and expanded parking areas. June interest receipts on grants and other monies set aside for the project total $3,787.87. Year-to date interest totals $19,757.26. For a $150 fee, bidders will soon be able to secure construction docu ments from Gantt-Huberman. The addition will abut the ex isting entryway and south-front portion of the building. A new en try will be created, along with ex panded parking facilities. Once all renovations have been com pleted, the facility will house the Warren Health Plan and the War ren County Health Department. Although the board did sign off on the plans to permit construc tion bids, members asked that they be allowed to meet with the architects for a detailed analysis of the planned construction. The architects have met already with with the directors of the health department and of the Vance Warren Comprehensive Plan, the "umbrella" which houses the Warren Health Plan. In addition, Farmers Home Administration has already given its approval. The board also granted a re quest from Dennis Retzlaff, War ren County health director, to enter into a lease agreement with Bowers and Burrows Oil Com pany, of Henderson, to rent space for its operations during the renovation. Currently, 10 to 11 en vironmental health, home health and adult health employees, as well as the department's "well ness center," will be displaced on Sept. 1, when renovations begin. Approval was given to permit the health department to lease for $500 per month temporary office space in the former Blanks (Continued on page 14) Lake Ordinance Addition Tabled With more questions raised than answered during the public hearing Thursday night of last week concerning an amendment the Warren County Zoning Or dinance, the issue has been tabled until clarification can be received from the Warren Coun ty Planing Board, county com missioners have agreed. The public hearing had been scheduled to receive citizens' comments concerning the inclu sion of one sentence in the or dinance: "...Except for the minimum lot area required, the above dimensional requirements shall not apply to the side of a lot abutting a lake." When the ordinance was writ ten in 1963, language to that effect was included?but was apparent ly limited to construction on Lake Gaston. When the ordinance was redone in 1974, similar language was retained, but was omitted in the 1985 revision. The omission was discovered during recent Planning Board meetings with developers of the Lake Point Subdivision. A draft of the revised ordinance, which would affect both agricultural residential and residential dis tricts was summitted for ap proval by the commissioners. But unanswered questions have caused the commissioners to table any action on the project until the history of the proposed sentence can be reviewed and the true intent of the amendment can be explained. Summer Proves No Holiday For Some Students By DIANE DAVIS Staff Writer While many of Warren Coun ty's students found themselves sleeping late during the first part of this summer, others con tinued to get out of bed early so they could get to school on time. Summer school, that is. Once again, Warren County High School was the location for summer school classes for students in grades 1-12. Begin ning on June 19 and ending on Friday of last week, only one ses sion of school was held this summer. John Hudgins, summer school principal, said this year's session went well. A total of 350 students were enrolled in this year's 23-day summer school, with 106 students in grades 1-6; 91 students in grades 7-8; and 148 students in grades 9-12. A total of 33 faculty members were employed during the ses sion, Hudgins said. These facul ty positions included a librarian, an office secretary, two guidance counselors and a teacher's aide for grades 1-6. Ten school bus drivers were employed, as the majority of the students used the buses for their transportation to and from school. Summer school began at 8 a.m. daily, with breakfast being served until 8:30 a.m. Students also got a 30-minute break for lunch, and classes were dis missed at 1 p.m. each day. Summer school offered extra assistance to students who en countered difficulty with certain subjects during the regular school year. Only those students who failed subjects were allowed to take classes. As part of the Basic Education Program (BEP), summer school was funded with state monies. The allocation for the 1969 session of summer school in Warren County was $130,662, compared to a figure of $124,262 in 1988. James Jordan, summer school coordinator for Warren County Schools, said the increase in the allocation depends on factors such as teachers' certification levels, salaries, materials costs, etc. During this summer's session, students in grades 1-6 took remedial courses, including basic reading and math. Seventh and eighth graders also studied basic reading and math, while high school students studied English, physical science, history, general math, algebra I and consumer math. Hudgins said the largest number of students took the English class during this year's session, a common practice each year. As in the regular school year, students' parents received pro gress reports midway through the session. Report cards were issued to students in grades 7-12 at the end of the school day on Friday of last week. The promo tion to a higher grade of those summer school students in grades 14 will be determined by the student's "home principal," or the principal of the student's regular school. Parents of these students will be informed of their child's promotion by a letter from their child's principal.
July 26, 1989, edition 1
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