T'OWIft
opics
Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Bowen
have received word that there
daughter and family Mr. and Mrs.
A. B. Gregory. Elaine and Allen
left Manila at midnight last night
aboard the ship. President Cleve
land. bound for the States. They
A.ve not been home for over two
years. Mr. Gregory is taking a
six months vacation from his job
as electrical engineer in a Manila
electric plant. They plan to
spend two days in Shanghai,
China; two in Hong Kong, China;
two in Honolulu. Hawaii and ar
rive in San Francisco, Calif.,
about April 25. They hope to be
in Plymouth in May.
A resident of Mahanoy City,
Pa„ who is here with the base
ball club from that city during
its spring training, this week of
fered a tip on pronouncing
"Mahanoy," which is giving local
fans some trouble. He says it is
"Mah-a-noi,” with the accent on
the final syllable. Most local peo
ple have been saying "Mahoney.”
Little “Tex” Benton likes his
baseball. One day this week he
got out of school at 2:30 and
joined a group of boys out at the
country club village to play ball.
At 6:30 he hadn’t gotten home, so
“Tex.” sr., went after him. Lo
cated on the ball field, his father
wanted to know why he was so
late in getting home. “Listen.
Pop.” said little Tex. “I’ve been
(IP here since 2:30 and ain’t had
my bat yet.”
Hour of meeting for the local
Lions Club was moved np a half
hour to 6:30 tonight, in order
that members may attend the
senior play, “Here Comes Char
lie.” scheduled to start at 8
o’clock. The club meeting will
be held in the high school lunch
room, with W. V. Hays in charge
of the program.
Misses Helen Carr, Frances
Spruill and Joyce Bailey, stu
dents at Meredith College, Ra
leigh, are spending the spring
holidays here with their respec
tive parents: Mr. and Mrs. J.
Richard Carr, Mr. and Mrs. M.
W. Spruill, and Mr. and Mrs. Carl
L. Bailey.
R. Bruce Etheridge, of Raleigh
and Manteo, J. L. Horne, jr., of
Rocky Mount, and W. Roy Hamp
ton, of Plymouth, went to More
t^ad City Sunday on business
connetfted with the North Caro
lina Department of Conservation
and Development. Mr. Etheridge
is director of the department,
while Mr. Horne and Mr. Hamp
ton are members of the board.
Plymouth High School Princi
pal J. S. Fleming really learned
how to use an athletic official’s
whistle Tuesday and Wednesday
of this week. Water got into the
fuse box which controls 'the
electric bell system for the school
and put it out of commission. For
two days Mr. Fleming blew the
Wlhistle to signal opening and
closing of the school, as well as
every class change.
Play by Creswell
Seniors Tonight
— ♦
Creswell. — The senior class
play, "In Again! Out Again!” a
three-act comedy, will be present
ed at Creswell High School au
ditorium Thursday night of this
week at 8 o'clock. The produc
jrtjn is packed with laughter and
t.wth-provoking situation that
will hold interest from beginning
to end, and the public is cordially i
invited to attend. i
The cast of characters includes
the following seniors: Rebecca i
Patrick, Maudie Twiddy, Stancil !
White, Alice Davenport, Norma
Riddick, Stanley Hufton, Thomas i
Nooney, Phillip Johnson, Vivian i
Holton, Jackie Craddock, Dorothy <
Mae Ambrose, and Mary Gaither. 11
The Roanoke Beacon
****** and Washington County News ******
A home newspaper dedicated
to the service of Washington I
III County and its 13,000 people. I
VOLUME LX—NUMBER 13
Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, Thursday, March 31, 1949
ESTABLISHED 1889
I Five Men Named to
j Hoard of Fdueation
Names of five men appoint
ed to the Washington County
Board of Education are con
tained in the omnibus bill in
troduced into the lower house
of the General Assembly Tues
day night. This is an increase
of two over present member
ship on the board, the new
members having been provided
for by a special act that was
still pending in the senate yes
terday. It is expected that the
bill will be enacted without
opposition.
Members of the board, all
named to four-year terms by
Representative E. O. Arnold,
are as follows: L. E. Hassell
and Wade Hardison, of Roper;
James W. Norman, of Plym
outh; P. B. Belanga, of C'reswell;
and Walter VV. White, of Skin
nersville.
At present the board is made
up of three members: L. E. Has
sell, chairman: J. W. Norman
and P. B. Belanga. All three
of these men announced in the
primary last year and were
certified as nominees when no
opposition developed. The two
new members, Wade Hardison,
of Roper, and Walter W. White,
were named by Mr. Arnold
after introduction of his bill to
increase the number of mem
bers to five.
Several County Bills
Passed by Assembly
Corn Planting
Gels Underway
A big majority of county farm
ers are getting ready to plant
corn, County Farm Agent W. V.
Hays said yesterday. Most of
the preliminary work has been
done, and a great deal of corn
will be planted the last of this
week and the first of next,
weather continuing favorable,
he stated.
Tobacco plants are said to be
small and not too plentiful at
this time. However, transplant
ing time for this crop is still
about a month away. The late
cold spell in March damaged
some plant beds and greatly re
tarded growth, according to re
ports.
After the com crop is planted,
peanuts are next on the pro
gram, usually starting around
April 20.
Cancer'Drive Will
Gel Underway in
Couniy Tomorrow
-1
Quota Is $800, With 40
Per Cent To Be Re
tained for Benefit of
County Patients
Washington County’s first an
nual cancer drive fund campaign
under the Afnerican Cancer So
ciety scheduled to begin tomor
row will begin without a staff of
solicitors, , Mrs. W. J. Woolard,
county commander said yester
day. However it is hoped that
county sectional chairmen will
be named sometime next week.
Officials named thus far are
the Rev. E. M. Spruill, county '
chairman; Mrs. Blanche Midgett, ;
treasurer and Dr. T. L. Bray, con- ;
suiting physician.
The Washington County quota
is $800. The county will retain ,
40 per cent of the amount col- ;
lected, for county use, and the ;
remaining 60 per cent is to be
sent to the American Cancer So- |
ciety. ,
A cancer clinic has been or- j
ganized in Kinston, which will j
serve this district, including
Washington County. Any person
in the county found to be suf- 1
fering from cancer will be sent to
and cared for in Kinston, free of I
personal charges. j
INo Candidacies Yet,
For Election May 3 j
Not a single candidate has of
ficially fil^ thus far f°r any °f
the seven municipal offices at
statt in the town election on May
3rdJ?rt was 'earned yesterday
from City Clerk W. A. Roebuck.
There are a number of rumors
about different people announc
ing for the various offices and
one or two of the present coun
cilmen have said they would
stand for reelection, but up to
yesterday afternoon not a single
one had made it official by filing
notice with the city clerk.
Mayor A. J. Riddle said this
week he had not made up his
mind whether he would be a can
didate or not. W. H. Joyner has
indicated he would run for re
election as councilman from the
first ward, but E. D. Keel, other
member of the council from that
ward, is still on the undecided
list.
The old second and third wards
have been consolidated under the
new ward set-up, and George ‘
Harrison is the only councilman :
from this area who has definitely *
stated he would be a candidate. ‘
A. J. Byrd has stated he would 1
not be a candidate. Harold Whit- 1
ley, at present a member of the
council from the second ward, said *
this week he did not intend to f
run. J. S. Brinkley, the other r
second ward councilman, has s
made no statement. t
The third ward is practically t
all new territory, taken into the 1
corporate limits in the 1947 elec- s
tion, and it is not now represent- r
ed on the council. Several pros- c
pective candidates have been 6
mentioned from this ward, but
none has made it official yet, It c
is expected that one councilman 1
from the third ward will come c
from Little Richwood and the r
other from the Country Club Vil- s
lage, although this is not manda- f
tory and both men could be elect- f
ed from either village. c
Other Local Measures
Pending; Only Three
Sponsored by County
Board Commissioners
-»
Only one of the three bills re
quested by the Washington Coun
ty Commissioners at their meet
ing March 14 has been enacted
into law by the General Assembly
so far: although the other two
are expected to go through, one
of them in a slightly different
form. The only one enacted pro
vides for staggered four-year
terms for members of the county
board. County Representive E.
O. Arnold sponsored all three
measures, in addition to four
others, all of which were intro
duced week before last.
The commissioners requested a
law providing that criminal cases
in which a jury trial was de
manded in the recorder’s court be
certified automatically to the su
perior court. This bill has passed
the house and was referred to
the senate committee on courts
and judicial districts.
The third bill requested by the
county board relates to distri
bution of ABC profits to towns in
the county, limiting the share of
Creswell and Plymouth to 10 per
cent of their respective store’s
profits and striking out the pro
vision that distribution is con
tingent upon “adequate police
protection.” An amended bill
complies with the request of the
county board, except that Cres
well’s profits are made retroactive
to January 1, 1944, where the
board had asked that it become
effective with the 1948 fiscal
year. This bill was last reported
in the house committee on coun
ties, cities and towns.
The other bills introduced by
Representative Arnold recently
were not requested by the county
commissioners. They included
one amending the Roper town
charter, which has been enacted;
another renaming the Scupper
nong Drainage District, reported
favorably by the house commit
tee on drainage; another increas
ing membership on the county
board of education to five, which
has passed the house and is now
in the senate committee on educa
tion; and still another to authorize
appointment of an ABC enforce
ment officer, at a salary not ex
ceeding $175 per month, which
has likewise been enacted into
law. ,
. *
Talent Show at !
Roper Tomorrow'
—•— ;
Postponed last Friday night be- i
:ause of power failure, the ama- 1
teur show sponsored by the Roper j
Eturitan Club will be presented , i
n the high school auditorium i
;here Friday night of this week
at 8 o’clock. Some of the best
talent in Eastern North Carolina
las been lined up for the event,
and a record crowd is expected to ,
ae on hand for the event tomor
row night. i
At least 18 amateur acts will be
n competition for the long list of
arizes to be awarded. Specialty j
lumbers of practically every de
scription, including impersona- *
sions, vocal selections, instrumen- J
,al numbers, hill-billy and other J
aand arrangements, blues singers, “
singers of “sweet” and “hot”
nusic, and comedy skits, are all c
an the skit, and a full evening’s *
antertainment is assured. 5
Charlie Mizell will be master *
af ceremonies. Prizes range from
fl5 cash to various items of mer- '
rhandise donated by cooperating c
nerchants, all to be awarded the c
successful contestants. Proceeds I
from the show will be used for
purchasing an oil stove for the 1
community building. |:
Pre-School Clinics
To Be Held Here
April 4th and 8th
P’irst in Series That Will
Be Held at Principal
Schools in County ; For
White and Colored
-■*
Pre-chool clinics set up by the
District Health Department will
be operated next Monday for the
Plymouth White School Child
ren and next Friday for the Plym
outh Colored School Children.
Clinics will be held in other sec
tions of the county on designated j
dates during the remainder of the !
month.
Members of the Plymouth Par
ent-Teacher Association will aid
clinic officials here Monday.
The health department an
nounced last week that any school
child who has not been vaccinat
ed for whooping cough, diptheria.
and smallpox will not be allowed
to enter school in Washington
County next fall.
Previously it had been the
policy for the nurse to visit each
school at the beginning of the
school year to vaccinate all child
ren who had not been vaccinated
before.
The schedule for pre-school
clinics in Washington County is
as follows:
Plymouth White School Child
ren report Monday April 4 in the
legion hall at 9:30 a. m.; Plym
outh Colored, Friday April 8,
Colored School 10 a. m.: Roper
White, Monday April 11, Roper
School at 10 a. m; Roper Colored,
Friday April 15, Colored School.
10 a. m.: Creswell White. Monday
April 25. Creswell High School,
10 a. m.: Creswell Colored, Fri
day April 22, Colored School, 10
a. m.
Thieves Break in 4251;
Get Very Little Cash
Someone 'broke-in the "4251”
restaurant on West Water Street
last night or early this morning
between 11:30 p. m. and 6 a. m.
and stole $7 in cash from the cash
register, according to Jack Owens,
manager.
The thief or thieves entered the
restaurant by way of the window
to the men’s rest room. Exit was
made by the side door.
Nothing was taken other than
the $7, Mr. Owens reported. About
a dollars worth of pennies were
left in the cash register.
-1—
Install Equipment lor
Shelling Seed Peanuts
New seed peanut shelling equip
ment was installed this week at
the Newman farm, one mile east
of Plymouth on the old Mackeys
Road, by James H. Ward and
Percy R. Ashby. They plan to
start operations tomorrow (Fri
day) and will be glad to serve
peanut farmers of this section.
The machinery installed by
Ward and Asby is said to be the
most satisfactory type employed
in this work, giving more plant
ing kernels per bag than any
other method. They invite farm
ers to visit their place and ob
serve the new equipment in op
eration.
■ ♦
Potato Growers Meeting
To Be Held in Columbia
Commercial irish potato pro
ducers in Washington County are
invited to attend a meeting in
Columbia on Thursday, April 21,
it 3 p. m., when methods of hand
ing potatoes from digging to de
ivery at markets will be dis
cussed. Several speakers will be
present from the Extension Ser
vice of North Carolina State Col- 1
ege, and1 all phases of potato :
>roduction will be considered. 1
Hides and moving pictures also ’
vill be shown.
Concrete Walks at
School Paid for by
Parents-Teachers
Work Is Nearing Com
pletion on Five New
Sections; One More Is
Needed
The fifth section of the new
concrete walks being laid in front
of the Plymouth High School
building and the annex is just
about complete, according to
Louis Owens, supervisor of the
job. The Plymouth Parent-Teach
er Association is sponsoring the
project.
New walks already complet
ed are from the right entrance of j
the high school building to the
Washington Street sidewalk and
a like walk from the left entrance
to the street sidewalk. Another
walk extends from the right en
trance joining old center walk to
the front entrance. A similar walk
extends from the left entrance.
The fifth section of the new walk,
which remains to be completed,
extends from the left entrance
of the high school building and
will reach the entrance to the
annex.
Mrs. H. C. Carter, president of
the Parent-Teacher Association,
said that this project alone would
cost approximately $600. Another
walk is planned, but funds will
have to be raised for it. The plan
ned walk would extend from the
arcade between the two buildings
to the gymnasium entrance. The
association would also like to
have the main entrance walk to
the high school building rebuilt.
Members of the local parent
teacher association raised the $600
for the walk project for the most
part by serving dinners to civic
clubs. Mrs. Carter said she was
trying to get the money for the
remainder of the program by do
nation, as the school year is get
ting short.
After the walks are complete
the P-T A is planning to beauti
fy the school grounds by plant
ing shrubbery in appropriate
places. Several women’s clubs
have already declared they would
donate the shrubbery, according
to Mrs. Carter. However the
planting will not take place until
next fall.
■ t
I Baseball Game
Set for Sunday
-«
Unable to secure any of the col
lege or Coastal Plain league teams
in this section for an exhibition
game with the Mahanoy City
(Pa.) Brewers here Sunday, Bill
Joyner announced yesterday that
an all-star aggregation would
meet them. The game will be
played at the local park, starting
at 3 p. m.
The local all-star aggregation
will include a number of players
who performed in the Albemarle,
Martin County and other leagues
of this section last year. The
The perennial “Slim” Gardner, of
Jamesville, has agreed to start on
the mound, and “Monk” Webb,
who was with Edenton last year,
also is expected to perform. "Gas
house” Parker and Johnny Bo
honko, also of Edenton, have
agreed to play, and local players
include Ted Pinner, “Zero” Hol
liday, Streeter Tugwell, and oth
ers. Efforts are being made to
get John Wolfe, signed this week
as an outfielder for the Rams, to
come over from Greenville and
take part.
■■ ■ ■ ♦
Attend Paper Makers'
Convention Last Week
- » —
Charles H. Painter and James i
M. Hamilton spent last week in
Cincinnati, Ohio, as delegates i
from the local union at the 19th ; ]
annual convention of the Interna- i
tional Brotherhood of Paper j:
Makers. i
Collect $1,903.79 for!
Red Cross Campaign'
Washington County’s Annual
ted Cross Drive is officially clos
id for this year, according to W.
r. Woolard, county chairman, who
eports a total collection of $1,
103.79.
The figure collected is $353.79
iver the goal set for this county
>y the District Red Cross, but
>46.21 short of the $1,950 personal
(oal set by Mr. Woolard.
The National Red Cross quota
vas reached in the first five days
>f the month, when Mr. Woolard
lirected his “whirlwind cam
>aign” to top the goal.
The county chairman wishes to
hank all the section chairmen
ind their staffs who made the
campaign a success and especial
ly the persons who contirbuted to
the drive.
Of the $1,903.79 collected
throughout the county, four sec
tions topped their quotas. Plym- i
outh residential area contributed :
$116.95 over its quota of $300;
Mackeys contributed $12 over its 1
$50 goal; Country Club Village •
topped its $100 quota by $9.50 and
Roper raised $7.16 over its $200
goal.
Other county collections were
from Plymouth Business District
$424; Plymouth Industrial $170.25;
Little Richvrood $38.75; Creswell
$119; Skinnersville $31.65; Weno
na $16,52; Pleasant Grove $16.50
and County Colored $301.98.
To Begin Registering for
Town Election Saturday
■tegular Meeting* of
Hoard* Her** Mondav
The County Board of Comm --
sioners and the County Board of
Education have scheduled meet
ings in the courthouse Monday.
morning at 10 o'clock.
The county commissioners will
meet as a board of equalization
and review Monday morning to
consider the cases of nine per
sons or firms who failed to list
their taxes for 1948. Those called 1
to the meeting are representa
tives of the Plymouth FCX Store.
Manning Motor Company. H. E. ,
Harrison Wholesale Company, ,
Ralph S. Browning. C. J. Norman, i
Still Realty and Insurance Com- j
pany. Pembroke Baker. Dr. L. W. '«
White and Rose's 5 and 10-Cent ;
Store. ! 1
The matter of dog vaccinations!,
is also scheduled to be consider- j -
ed by the commissioners.
Matters of a routine nature are':
slated to be discussed by the j ■
members of th® board of educa
tion.
Boy Scout Camporee
Here This Week-End
To Be Held at Stillacres'
Saturday and Sunday:
Columbia, Roper, Cres-;
well Boys Expected
The first Albemarle District
| Boy Scout Camporee ever held
in Plymouth will be set up on the
hut property at Stillacres Satur
day and Sunday.
Scout patrols from Plymouth.
Plymouth Rural Route. Roper,
Creswell and Columbia, all in this
district are expected to attend.
Patrols from the Martin County
District have been invited to at
tend. A contingent of sea scouts
will also set up camp and act as
advisors in special events.
Scouts will register on the hut
property Saturday morning at 10
o’clock prepared to stay all night
and cook four meals. The cam
poree will break-up Sunday after
noon at 3 o'clock.
The Albemarle District Cam
poree is a preparitory camp for
the council camporee to be held in
Washington April 22, 23 and 24th.
A full round of scouting events
have been planned including,
cooking, first aid, tent pitching,
compass, knot tying, signalling,
judging, tracking, camp layout,
and inspection. Points will be
gained from these events toward
three camporee prizes. The first
prize is a blue ribbon; second,
red ribbon; and third a white rib
bon.
Saturday night a big campfire
program is planned form 8 to
10 o’clock. Old time campfire
songs, an address by the Rev. P.
B. Nickens, playlets given by each
patrol, a talk by George Brown,
field executive of the East Caro
lina Council about the Washing
ton Camporee is included in the
program. The public is cordial
ly invited to attend the campfire
ceremonies.
Sunday morning at 8:45 o’clock
the Rev. E. M. Spruill, of the
Grace Episcopal Church, will con
duct church services.
♦
License Required
For Herring Nets
Fishermen who use set or dip
nets for herring in inland waters
of this section were reminded this
week by County Game Protector
J. T. Terry that a license is re
quired for each net in use. These
licenses may be obtained from Mr.
Terry or any of his deputies in
the county at a cost of 50 cents
each.
Licenses are not required for
using set or dip nets in Roanoke
River or Albemarle Sound, as
these are commercial waters.
However they are required if
used on creeks or canals in the
county. Most of this type of fish
ing is carried on in the Lake
Phelps region, Mr. Terry stated.
Licenses may be obtained from
J. E. Pierce in that section.
Colored Farmers
To Meet Saturday
-♦
All colored farmers of Wash
ington County arc urged to attend
a meeting in the Agriculture
Building in Plymouth. Saturday
morning at 10 o’clock, to organize
as part of the Washington County
Farm Bureau.
R. Flake Shaw, vice president
and secretary of the North Caro
lina Farm Bureau Federation will
speak on the aims and ideals of
this organization.
Colored officers and commit
tee heads will be elected if there
are enough interested members
to warrant organization.
Senior Play j
Here Tonight j
The senior class of Plymouth
High School will present Jay
Tobias’ “Here Comes Charlie,”
a three-act comedy in the school
auditorium here tonight at 8
o'clock. Students in the high
school building will see the play
performed this afternoon.
Charlie Hopps, a young hill
billy girl, makes her home with
a sophisticated family in the big
city, when she becomes or
phaned. The escapades she
takes part in and the embar
rassment she creates should
highly please the audience.
Mrs. W. J. Weaver is the di
rector of the play.
Broken Wire Puts
Area in Dark for
Two Hours Friday
Several Events Put Off
And Others Held With
Makeshift Lighting Fa
cilities Last Week
A broken cross wire on a power
pole causing a top wire to make
contact with a bottom wire two
miles east of Robersonville Fri
day night plunging this area, from
Tarboro to Columbia, into dark
ness for two hours and ten
minutes. Electric power went off
at 7 p. m. and came on again at
9:10 p. m.
During the two hour black
out a number of local events were
postponed, some carried on with
candlelight and still others by
storage and dry cell batteries.
Members of the local Plymouth
American Legion post were just
beginning a meeting to elect new
officers when darkness postponed
the event to the next regular
meeting, Friday, April 8. Bruce
Bateman pushed a light switch
in the court room of the court
oouse, where the meeting was to
oe held, but the lights went off
i moment after he pressed the
.witch. First thought was that
i fuse had been blown.
Roy F. Lowry, superintendent
:ounty schools, who was working
n his office had papers full of :
igures spread out on a large 1
able, where he was tabulating
ists of fuel for schools to use '
^Tse<r^BLACKOUT^Page~T2) ]
Books to Continue Open
Through 23rd; Com
plete New Registration
Is Ordered
-♦
Registration books for the town
election on May 3 open Satur
day and will continue open
through April 23. A completely
new registration has been order
ed. due to changes in the bound
aries of wards since the last elec
tion two years ago. Regardless
of how many times a person has
voted in the past, he or she will
not be eligible to vote on May
3rd unless registered during the
time the books are open.
Registrars and judges of elec
tion were appointed by the city
councilmen at their meeting
March 7th. However, it is re
ported the registrar appointed for
the second ward. J. T. McNair,
has declined to serve, and city
officials did not know yesterday
who would be named in his
stead. An appointment will be
made between now and Saturday,
and the registrar will be at the
polling place on each Saturday
from then until April 23rd. Sat
urday. April 30. will be challenge
day.
In addition to registering pros
pective voters at the several poll
ing places on Saturdays, the regis
trars will also register those who
present themselves wherever the
books are kept on all other days
during the registration period.
Registrars will be at the polling
places until 9 p. m. on the last
registration day.
Boundaries of the three wards,
polling places, registrars and
judges of election are as follows:
First Ward: That portion of the
town lying east of the center line
of Washington Street: polling
place at the courthouse; Clarence
Blount, registrar: E. A. Harri
son and R. W. Johnston, judges of
election.
Second Ward: All that portion
of the town lying between the
center lines of Washington and
Wilson Streets: polling place, of
fice of the Roanoke Coal Com
pany. corner of Jefferson and
Washington Streets; J. T. McNair,
registrar; T. E. Ainsley and W. S.
Hardison, judges of election.
Third Ward: That portion of
the town lying to the west of the
center line of Wilson Street; poll
ing place, Arrants’ Garage on Wil
son Street Extended at the en
trance to Little Richwood Vil
lage; Mrs. Ray Brown, registrar;
Rev. J. F. Miller and C. E. Ayers,
judges of election.
•-----.
Roiary Officers
Elected Tuesday
J. S. Fleming is the new presi
dent of the Plymouth Rotary
Club by virtue of an election held
at its regular meeting Tuesday
night. William E. Waters was
elected vice president and club
members re-elected the Rev. E.
M. Spruill as secretary-treasurer.
The new officers will take office
July 1.
Mr. Fleming was in charge of
the program for the evening. He
gave a talk on the audio-visual
education program of the high
school and presented a classroom
movie. He also reported on school
trips taken to Williamsburg, Va.,
Washington. D. C., and Raleigh
this year. He showed a class
room film on Alaska and its in
dustries.
Special guests at the meeting
were Mrs. J. S. Fleming, Mrs.
Meredith J. Saunders and Jewel
Hardison.
Sale of City Property
To Be Held Monday
Very little interest has been
evidenced thus far in the pro
posed auction sale of several
pieces of real estate owned by the
town, set for noon next Monday
in front of the courthouse door.
The property to be offered in
cludes the fire department build
ing and municipal building, as
well as a vacant lot on Water
Street, the structure immediate
ly back of these three places
presently occupied by the D. & N.
Laundry, and two lots on West
Main Street.
W. L. Whitley, attorney for the
town, will conduct the sale. He
has invited prospective purchasers
to suggest the manner in which
they would like the property di
vided, but had received none the
first of this week. He emphasizes
that this is not a forced sale, and
the city council has reserved the
right to reject any and all bids.
The council proposed to sell off
these itmes of real estate and use
the proceeds to improve the city
market building and erect a new
fire department building on the
lot adjoining the city water tank.
The modernized city market
building would be used to house
the police department, city clerk's
office and other town activities.
Mayor A. J. Riddle said yester
day that he was not at all op
timistic about prospects for a sale
at this time. Bids were received
for the property a year or two
ago aggregating some $32,500. but
property values have declined
since then, and it is not believed
the bids in prospect next Mon
day will justify a sale.