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15 A DOVE!
, Parents did all they could
By Charles Lewis
Associate Professor of Law
Campbell University School of
Law
If a minor child has willfully or
maliciously injured another person
or another person's property, the
parents who have custody will be
liable for up to $1000 under North
Carolina General Statute ?
| 1-538.1.
In addition, if a plaintiff can
show that the parents in some way
caused the child to do the damage,
the plaintiff can also sue the
parents under rules developed by
case law and not be limited to
$1000 in damages.
Suppose, however, that parents
know or should know of
dangerous propensities of their
^ child but fail to exercise reasonable
control over the child so as to pre
vent injury to another person or
property. Should the parents in
that case be liable for damage done
by the child?
The Supreme Court of North
Carolina has recently held that a
factual situation meeting the con
ditions of this hypothetical should
indeed be liable for damages done
by their child.
" In a recent case in North
Carolina, the parent, who had
custody of the child, was sued for
Law For Laypersons
the damages done by that child
when the child drank a large
amount of whiskey, took some
drugs, broke into a house and
seriously assaulted the plaintiff
who lived there. Plaintiff's theory
in the suit was that the child's
parents knew or had reason to
know that the child used drugs and
was of a dangerous mental state
and disposition which made it
foreseeable that he should inten
tionally injure others unless
reasonable steps were taken to
supervise and control him.
Naturally, the plaintiff asserted
that the child's parents did not
take the necessary reasonable steps
to supervise and control the child
so as to prevent him from injuring
others.
The Supreme Court of North
Carolina agreed that the parent of
an unemancipated child may be
held liable in damages for failing
to exercise reasonable control over
a child's behavior if the parent had
the ability and the opportunity to
control the child and knew or
should have known of the necessity
for exercising such control.
In this particular case, however,
the court found that the crime oc
curred in the early morning hours
when the parent would not or
dinarily be expected to be watching
the child.
In addition, the parent had
sought psychiatric and
psychological counseling and treat
ment for this child at an early stage
in his life. The parent had sought
professional help for the child
when it was realized that he was us
ing drugs.
In short, the court found that
the parent could not have done
more short of physically restrain
ing the child and placing him under
observation for 24 hours a day.
The parent then was not liable
for the damages caused by the
child because the factual situation
did not fit within the rule establish
ed by the court.
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Shop 'Tiaeford First
F or commercial fishermen
it is no luxury cruise
By Lucien Coleman
Sorry, friends, but I just can't
resist telling you a fish story.
About two years ago, I had the
good fortune to meet Jim
Woodland, a commercial fisher
man who resides in Chatham,
Massachusetts, a delightful little
town out on Cape Cod. He invited
us then to come up and go fishing
with him some day; and last week
my wife and I were able to take
him up on his invitation.
Now, you've got to understand
that this wasn't the kind of deep
sea fishing trip we see in the
movies. No fancy party boat
equipped with swivel chairs. No
beautiful maidens plying paying
customers with food and
beverages. The Lan-Chris was a
working fisherman's boat, filled
with nets and functional equip
ment. We untangled our own
hand-lines and ate our sandwiches
out of a paper bag.
Having never been deep-sea
fishing before, I was more than a
little nervous about going 30 miles
out into the Atlantic on a 37-foot
Things That Matter
boat. All the horror stories 1 had
heard about sea-sickness were
rekindled when, the evening before
our fishing trip, another commer
cial fisherman told Jim and me
how one of his crewmen had spent
the previous night, and most of the
day, hanging over the side.
But, as it turned out, the sea was
gentle as we made our way out of
the harbor at sunrise the next mor
ning. And it stayed that way the
whole day. The only problem we
had was that the Dramamine we
had tanked up on almost put us to
sleep.
Since this was a workaday cruise
for Jim, the first business of the
day was to lay his nets -- more than
7,000 feet of them. Then we spent
the next three hours fishing for cod
with hand-lines.
Jim had an uncanny instinct for
finding where the fish were hang
ing out, in all those miles of open
ocean. Not once did he fail to park
the boat squarely on top of a
school of cod, feeding about a
hundred feet below. In about three
hours, we managed to put about
600 pounds of fish in the box.
Never again will I feel quite the
same about pulling in those small
perch and bream which infest most
fresh-water lakes and streams. Not
after experiencing the thrill of lan
ding two, and even three,
20-pound cod on the same line.
The smallest keepers ran about five
pounds; the largest somewhere
around 40 pounds.
I had fun. But 1 also developed a
keen appreciation for the hard,
dirty, hazardous work of a com
mercial fisherman. These guys put
in 14-hour days, during the fishing
season, often in rough weather and
under risky conditions. With
modern radar, sonar, and radio
equipment, their work seems
routine enough. But their boats are
small, and the sea is awesome in
size and temperament.
1 don't think I'll order fish-and
chips again without remembering
what it costs them personally to
provide food from the sea.
Early So . Carolina railroad
started Sandhills network
By S. David Carriker
National Railroad Museum
Chesterfield County, South
Carolina, will soon enjoy its 130th
anniversary in railroading. It is the
first county on the Carolina Sand
hills area to have an operating
railroad within its bounds.
November 29, 1853 is the date that
the connection was made between
Darlington and Cheraw,
South Carolina, but it is the begin
ning of a much larger picture. Dur
ing that 130 year period Chester
field County has seen at least 40
different railroad operations!
The first line to be built was the
Cheraw & Darlington R.R. It was
completed in 1853 between those
two towns.
The C & D was known for their
net earnings, which totaled
$700,000 between 1868 and 1893,
even though the line had only 40
miles of track. The line was built
with the Southern guage of five
feet.
In 1857 the Cheraw & Coalfields
R.R. was chartered and began to
buy the right-of-way for its line.
But the Civil War thwarted its
plans before any track was laid.
The company changed its name in
1868 to the Cheraw & Salisbury
R.R. and then began construction
towards Wadesboro, North
Carolina.
After 1 1 years of attempted con
struction on the 26 mile line, the C
& D stepped in and completed it in
months. But the completed line in
1880 was of General Palmer's
famous three-foot guage. It con
nected in Wadesboro and in
Cheraw with five-foot line lines
and became not only impractable,
but unusable.
So in 1883 the C & D converted
the C & S to a five-foot guage line,
as it was now operated by the C &
D. But by 1886 the U.S. standard
guage of four feet, eight and one
half inches was adopted, so the C
& D had to again change the guage
of both the C & S RR and the C &
D Rfl from five-feet to the present
standard guage.
The Cheraw & Chester R.R. was
never built into the county, but
was graded all the way to Cheraw.
It was also built as a three-foot
guage line to connect with the C &
5 in Cheraw.
The line was in operation in
1877, but ceased new construction
in 1880 in Lancaster. It is possible
that this occurred because of the C
6 D takeover of the C & S. The
line eventually became the Lan
caster & Chester Ry in 18%.
By 1892 the C & D owned 110
miles of track, the mainline of
which extended from Wadesboro
to Cheraw to Florence. In 1898 the
C & D became part of the Atlantic
Coast Line R.R. of South
Carolina. In 1900 the ACL of SC
became part of the ACL of
Virginia, and in 1901 it became
part of the ACL Railroad.
The third line to be built into
Chesterfield County was the
Palmetto R.R. The line was built
in 1887 from Hamlet to Kollock
(Wallace) and into Cheraw. It
crossed the Pee Dee River with
3940 feet of wooden trestle and 600
feet of iron bridge. Under a finan
cial reorganization in October 1895
the line became the Palmetto
Railway. It was absorbed by the
Seaboard Air Line Ry. in 1901.
The SAL Ry. experienced a
financial reorganization in 1916 to
become the SAL Ry. Co. A second
reorganization in 1946 brought the
SAL RR. Later in 1967 the SAL
RR and the ACL RR merged to
become the Seaboard Coast Line
RR. This railroad became part of
the Family Lines Rail System in
1974, which experienced a full cor
porate merger in 1983 to become
the Seaboard System Railroad.
In 1981 they also joined the
Chessie System in the corporate
holding network CSX.
The years 1900-1903 saw four
new lines in Chesterfield County.
The fourth line to be built was the
Chesterfield & Kershaw R.R. in
1900 between Cheraw and
Camden.
The 55 mile line lasted only 51
days before it was operated as a
part of the SAL association. Ii
operated for 18 months under the
C & K banner before it merged into
the SAL Ry. in November 1901.
The fifth line to be built was the
Chesterfield & Lancaster R.R. in
1901. It was built from Cheraw to
Chesterfield and Pageland and
operated until the early 1950's.
After 1923 the SAl Rv. Co. owned
the C & L R.R.
The sixth line to be built was the
Charlotte. Monroe and Columbia
R.R. It was built in 1902 between
McBee and Jefferson. The 18 mile
line was reorganized in 1908 and
1909, and became part of the
Carolina, Atlantic & Western R>.
in 1912. Ownership was then pass
ed on to the SAL Ry. Co. in 1918,
but the line retained its original
name.
The Hoke County Arts Council
and
Hoke County Schools
of
Raeford. North Carolina
PRESENT
Hoke County's Summer Youth Theatre
IN
-'2-: .O:
I .SUMMER "Heme *
SHOW CASE -
-
FEATURING
Music, Dance, Comedy and Cabaret
George Cohen. Director
Thursday and Friday Evenings
July 21 and 22, 1983
8:15 p.m.
Upchurch Junior Hifch Auditorium
RAEFORD. NORTH CAROLINA
$1.00 Admission
Project Sponsored
by
N.C. Arts Council Grassroots Art Program
The seventh line to he built was
the Bennettsville and Cheraw R.R
It was completed in 1903 from
Sellers to Bennettsville to Kollock,
a distance of 45 miles. It had
trackage rights over the SAI R>.
into Cheraw and ran until 1950.
The eighth line to he built was
the South Carolina Western R.R.
It was built in 191 1 from McBee to
Hartsville and Florence.
The 38 mile line expanded to 75
miles in 1912 with six locomotives.
In 1914 the line became a part of
the Carolina, Atlantic & Western
Ry.
There is more to say about
Chesterfield County railroading.
Next month the National Railroad
Museum will revisit the Pinehurst
Electric Railroad, the only traction
line operating in the Sandhills, and
the new Aberdeen & Briar Patch
Ry. which is to begin operations
this summer.
The Sandhills Railroading Pro
ject now encompasses 286 dif
ferent railroad companies in its 152
year history. Come see us at the
Museum in the old Hamlet Depot,
and join us in next months articles
on Sandhills Railroading.