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VOL. XXXXVN0.1 USPS 162-860 . KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 JANUARY 3. 1980 10 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Headlines Of '79 , Looking Back In Review
'A By Emily KHIetto )
This week's newspaper
marks the first publication in
the new 1980 decade and the
new year. Last year's events
are over, and many
forgotten,, while others live
on in printed copies of THE
DUPLIN TIMES.
During January, the com
pletion and occupancy of the
new jail complex was ex
j pected by the end of the
J month. Results of the Nov
* ember competency test in the
^ Duplin County public schools
came back with 87% of the
68S eleventh grade students
passing the reading portion
and 82% passing the math.
Florence Brown wjis ap
pointed postmaster of the
Kenansville post office after
24 years of service as a clerk.
feDuplin County received
"$187,927 from the N.C.
Board of Transportation for
improvements on secondary
roads. . -
In February, Kenansville
submitted the first official
entry in the Governor's
Community of Excellence
Award Program. Ray John
son was presented the
a Kenansville Jaycee Distin
g guished Award. Initial fund
ing to prepare preliminary
engineering plans for the
construction of an interstate
type facility from Benson to
Wilmington was approved by
the N.C. Board of Trans
portation. After more than
ten years of planning, sur
veying and discussion, the
first easements for work on
the Limestone-Muddy Creek
Watershed project of eastern
Duplin County were ob
tained.
In March, an organization
to promote development of
N.C. 24 between Fayetteville
and its junction with U.S. 70
west of Morehead City de
veloped from a meeting held
in Kenansville. The Duplin
County Democratic executive
committee decided to ap
point a committee to study
the issue of selecting school
board members by districts.
The county board of com
missioners voted to go to a
coup y manager form of
government for Duplin.
Construction of a $578,459
municipal water system in
Greenevers was expected to
begin by the end of March.
The board of commissioners
voted to apply for a FmHA
grant of $3.3 million, and a
state clean water bond grant
of $3.2 million for a proposed
county-wide water system.
April was poultry and egg
month in the state, with
1
Ouplin County being the
leading poultry-producing
county. The board of educa
tion installed new member
Mrs. Pat Broadrick of War
saw. She was the first woman
to serve on the board. Far
mers Home Administration
approved a loan of $598,000
and a grant of $683,000 for
the funding of improvements
on the Warsaw water sys
tem. Sheriff Edwood Revel)
requested funding for three
additional staff members at
the new county jail, and the
positions were approved by
the Duplin commissioners.
In May, a resolution by the
board of commissioners pro
claimed May 6-12 as Dallas
Herring Week in the county.
Openhouse was held for the
new county jail and the newly
remodeled courthouse and
annex addition. Workers for
the U.S. Census Bureau
began compiling a house-by
house address list within
Duplin County. Frank Saas,
D.D.S. and family were wel
comed to Kenansville by the
area chamber of commerce.
Lloyd B. Stevens, assistant
superintendent who served
as director of vocational edu
cation and director of pupil
personnel in the county,
announced his retirement.
?
In June, Warsaw residents
approved two bond proposals
for water and sewer projects
totaling $998,000. Duplin
County's 1979-80 property
tax rate dropped 4 cents from
72 to 68 cents per $100
assessed valuation. More
than half of the regular stu
dents who failed the compe
tency test in the fall of 1978
passed on their second try in
May, reported Superinten
dent C.H. Yelverton. Gov.
Jim Hunt and Agriculture
Commissioner Jim Graham
visited the Faison produce
market and told buyers and
sellers that they were doing
all they could to help the
critical situation caused by
the strike of independent
truckers. THE LIBERTY
CART opened its fourth
season.
In July, a reunion of
Kenansville public school
students and teachers was
staged on the school grounds
in Kenansville July 7. Ac
cording to independent' ruck
drivers, a move to tako away
a 25-cents-per-package in
crease in hauling rate by
some brokers or shippers at
the Faison produce auction
market brought on a block
ade for several hours. The
Wallace board of commis
sioners adopted a budget of
$1,948,706.93 for the 1979-80
fiscal year. The board of
education rejected a request
to allow senior citizens to buy
school lunches in commu
nities lacking meals-for-the
elderly programs.
In August, .Ira Ricky
Wheeler, 19, of 306 S. Cum
berland Street in Wallace,
was in the Duplin County jail
under S3,000 bond on 1
charges of child abuse. Three
towns were inspected by the
N.C. Department of Com
merce officials for the
Governor's Community of
Excellence award. The town
of Rose Hill became the
home for a Vietnamese
family who lived on a boat off
the Malaysian coast until
rescued and brought to the
United States. A tractor
truck pulling a containerized
trailer overturned eight miles
south of Kenansvjlle at the
the Island Creek bridge and
spilled sodium bichromate
dry, an industrial chemical,
onto the sides of the road and
into the creek. The Duplin
County Democratic executive
committee voted in favor of
electing the board of edu
cation by commissioner
districts.
In September, the Kenans
i
ville board of commissioners
appointed a new ABC board
after the resignation of the
entire board. Voters in
Kenansville defeated a pro
posed $170,000 water bond
issue by a one-vote margin of
62 to 61. A Dunn nursing
home owner C. Gilmer
Parrish. and a Warsaw con
tractor, Sam Godwin, were
scheduled to go on trial in
Raleigh on six counts of
fraud and conspiracy to de
fraud the Federal govern
ment. Dennis Rogers,
columnist for the Raleigh
N&O newspaper, stomped to
win revenge against Debra
Joneck, Duplin Agricultural
Extension Agent, in Duplin
Wine Cellars' second grape
stomp.
In October a Kenan Trans
port Co. tanker truck carry
ing about 5,000 gallons of
DMT skidded off the rural
paved road 241 near Pink Hill
and overturned in a ditch
while enroute to DuPont in
Kinston. Fire destroyed a
home owned by Christine
Williams, Duplin County
Register of Deeds, near Pink
Hill, one of the first brick
homes in the ^county. By
action of the James Sprunt
Institute board of trustees
and Duplin County commis
sioners, JSI was renamed
James Sprunt Technical Col
lege. No opposition was ex
piessed at the public hearing
on the realignment of a
portion of Section B of High
way 40 through Duplin
County.
In November, the second
public hearing was held on
the proposed Kenansville
water project, the first refer
endum having failed by a
margin of one vote. The
ninth annual Duplin soil and
water conservation tour was
held, and the Richard Boyce
family of Wallace was named
the Conservation Farm
Family of the Year. Murphy
Farms, Inc. will expand their
hog-producing capacity by
ten percent in the next year
with a new farrowing opera
tion, Wendell Murphy said at
the presentation of the hog
facility. A resolution to ask
the Duplin board of educa
tion to halt the practice of
allowing grade school chil
dren to sell items for various
school activities was
approved by the board of
com mi ssiaoners . The
Warsaw recreation commis
sion met with the Warsaw
town board to discuss plans
for the proposed community
park.
In December, the Kenans
ville elementary school
opening date was pushed
back from the planned
December opening to March,
said H.P. Honeycutt, Duplin
County assistant school
superintendent. Charges
against Warsaw contractor
Sam Godwin were dismissed
by Chief U.S. District Court
Judge F.T. Dupree after
Godwin testified on behalf of
C. Gilmer Parrish of Dunn
who had pleaded guiltv on
two counts of the indictment
of six charges. Dr. Stephen
Griffin and Dr. Clark Hen
mer, two of three physicians
to visit Duplin County, an
nounced intentions to begin a
family-type practice in War
saw. The Greenevers board
of commissioners voted to
sell water to the planned
Duplin County water system.
Citizens in Kenansville voted
153 to 62 in favor of a
$170,000 city water bond
which had failed by one vote
in September. The intensive
care unit at Duplin General
was completed and patients
were moved into five Of the
nine rooms in the facility.
Kenansville received state
wide attention for their
"Twelve Days of Christmas
in Historic Kenansville."
Warsjpw And Calypso Jaycees To Present
1 ? , ,11 ? 1 - . * * 'L I, ?J.11.i P.M i
.X.1! -v -
(AAiss Duplin County Pageant Jan?' 19
Calypso and Warsaw Jay
cees will present the 1980
Miss Duplin County Pageant
in Kenan Auditorium in
Kenansville January 19 and
will feature Tina Brewer.
Miss Duplin County 1979.
who was a top ten winner at
this year's Miss North Caro
ls lina Pageant last June.
" Since the pageant in
Raleigh. Tina has toured the
stale representing the
Jaycees and Duplin County
at pageants, festivals and
parades. Tina also student
taught in Chapel Hill this
fall, and received her degree
from UNC-CH this month.
Tina will lead a group of
talented young ladies from
Duplin County through this
year's pageant, the theme of
which is "City Lights." In
addition to the contestants,
entertainment will be pro
vided by visiting queens,
local dancers and guest
entertainers. .
Charlie Gaddy, television
personality of WRAL-TV in
Raleigh, will be the master of
ceremonies for the pageant
and will also entertain.
Gaddy. well-known for his
television work, has had
extensive pageant
experience on the local and
state level.
All former Miss Duplin
Counties and Miss Warsaws
are invited to attend the
pageant and reception which
will be held immediately
following the pageant. Any
young lady who is a former
crown wearer should identify
herself at the door, and
tickets will be provided for
her and an escort. These
young ladies will be
presented on stage during
the pageant.
The pageant, sponsored by
the Calypso and Warsaw
Jayeees, is directed by Sam
Garner of Wilmington, who
. is business manager for Miss
Duplin County and serves as
advisor to the winner during
the year and the Miss North
Carolina Pageant.
M ' I
Rose Hill Public Hearing
Water & Sewer Projects
9 Soil Key In
Watershed Project
Appointment of a soil
technician to work with land
owners on conservation
practices emphasizes the im
,? portance of proper land
1/ treatment in connection with
the Limestone-Muddy Creek
Watershed project, an
official said this week.
Boyce W. Boyette will
start work Jan. 7 as soil
conservation district techni
cian. A farmer in western
Duplin, he has previously
worked for the district part
time.
Boyette's principal activi
ty ties will be assisting land
It owners in planning and
applying practices to hold
their soils in place, according
to Calvin R. Mercer of
Beulaville. Chairman of the
district's supervisors.
"While people think of
channel clearing as the
necessary work in such a
project, the' most vital ele
ment is the land treatment
|, program to keep soil of the
' drainage area in place." said
Kenneth Futreal, district
conservationist. "If this is
not done, the work in the
creek beds wilt be useless.''
Futreal said Limestone
Muddy Creek is one of the
first small watershed pro
jects in which the federal
government will emphasize
this value through sharing
the cost of conservation ef
k forts such as no-till handling
of fields, grass field borders,
and grasj-covered water
ways.
The work would directly
benefit more than 700 land
owners and indirectly benefit
all of the 8.000 residents of
the eastern Duplin County
area. Futreal said. He esti
mated it would provide S2.50
to $3 in benefits to each $1 of
cost.
Futreal said the project
would improve operation of
septic tanks throughout the
area involved, h would also
improve drainage on 9.145
acres of crop and pastureland
and greatly improve flood
and mosquito control in the
area, he added.
Futreal pointed out the
channels of the creeks and
swamps of the area have
become clogged with sedi
ment and debris.
The project calls for exca
vation of 55.9 miles of stream
channel, restoration of 45.4
miles of channel, establish
ment of a 68-acre lake for
recreational purposes, and
11 fishing access areas on the
major streams.
Limestone Creek empties
into the Northeast Cape Fear
River near Hallsville and
Muddy Creek into the North
east River near Chinquapin.
Planning for the project
began a decade ago. Follow
ing numerous meetings with
farmers and state conserva
tion officials, an application
was prepared and submitted
to state and federal conser
vation boards in the early
1970s.
By Emily Killette
The Rose Hill board of
commissioners will hold a
public hearing on the
proposed town water and
sewer bond referendum Jan.
8 at 7:30 p.m.
Mayor Ben Harrell said
the referendum will be held
March 4 for a $65,000 water
bond and a $435,000 sewer
bond, which will be voted on
individually. The citizens
could pass either bond or
both, Harrell said. How
ever. the town is under a
temporary operating permit
for its sewage system and
does not have much choice
about a new sewage facility.
Until improvements are
made to meet the minimum
federal standards. Rose Hill
is under a no-growth man
date and cannot extend
sewer lines to new custom
ers. Harrell said.
According to Woody Brin
son. town administrator, the
proposed water system will
replace old two-inch mains
which have caused main
tenance problems and pro
vide only minimal pressure
and fire protection. The
system will be looped to
provide adequate fire flow to
all areas of the town plus
additional fire hydrants.
Brinson said. The water
system also includes a new
250.000-gallon elevated
storage tank, which. Brinson
said, is necessary to meet the
state Department of Human
Resources recommendations
that a town have storage
capacity of at least one day's
water consumption. Present
ly. Brinson said. Rose Hill
has only a 75,000-gallon tank
with a per capita flow of
243,000 gahons per day.
The proposed water im
1
J
provements will consist of
approximately 43,600 linear
feet of six-, eight-, and
12-inch water mains, one
250,000 elevated water
storage tank, renovation of
existing wells, and 42 fire
hydrants. The proposed
sewer improvements consist
of two sewage pumping sta
tions, approximately 4,500
linear feet of forced sewer
mains, approximately 24,450
linear feet of gravity sewer
mains, approximately 5,200
linear feet of interceptor
gravity mains, and a 325,000
gallon-per-day wastewater
treatment facility. Brinson
said.
The proposed water
project will be financed with
Tobacco
Meeting
The annual tobacco meet
ing sponsored by the Duplin
County Agricultural Exten
sion Service and the Duplin
County Young Farmers Or
ganization will be held Jan.
14 at 6:30 p.m. in James
Kenan High School cafeteria.
Following the free supper,
presentations will be given
by featured speakers Dr. W.
K. Collins, a tobacco spe
cialist on the NCSU faculty,
and Professor Furney Todd,
extension professor of plant
pathology. Door prizes and
special awards will be pre
sented during the meeting.
All Duplin County fanner*
and their wives are invited.
Persons planning to attend
should contact the Duplin
Agricultural Extension of
fice ^
a Farmers Home Adminis
tration grant of S378.000 and
a FmHA loan of $650,000 for
a total cost of $1,028,000.
The proposed sewer project
will be financed with an
F.nvironmental Protection
Administration grant of
$1,455,000, a FmHA grant of
$475,000. a FmHA loan of
$435,000. and a N.C. Gean
Water Bond srant of
$379,000. totaling $2,745,
000.
The grant commitments
are contingent upon the
passage of the bond referen
dum, and will guarantee
71% of the total water and
sewer project costs, said
Brinson. The general obliga
tion bonds will be purchased
?viih an interest rate of 5%
and will be repaid over a
period of 40 vears. he said.
The proposed water and
sewer systems are designed
to pay their own way to avoid v
a tax increase. The proposed
rate structure will call for an
increase of one dollar over
the present minimum water
bi|l. and $5.07 over the
minimum sewage bill,
raising the combined mini
mum bill to $14.07, said
Brinson.
LEADERSHIP AWARD Mrs. J.B. Stroud
of Route I. Magnolia, is shown above with
the leadership award she received recently.
The silver tray was presented to her for her
work in cooperation with the N.C. Agricul
tural Extension Service. She was one of 14
women receiving the award at the fall
meeting of the N.C. Extension Home
makers' Association held in Pinehurst. The
award, sponsored by A & P, was presented
based on efforts in extension homemakers.
community development and 4-H programs.
Presently. Mrs. Stroud is a member of the
Kenansville Extension Club and has been an
Extension Homemakcr member for more
than 24 years. She has held offices and has
been chairman of numerous committees
from the local to state level. She and hei
husband have three children, Frances S.
Jackson of Kenansvillc. Sharon Stroud of
Sumter. S.C.. and J.B. Stroud, Jr. of
Magnolia. In her spare time she enjoys
reading, crocheting, knitting, cooking, doing
community work, helping others and gar
dening. Mrs. Stroud says that she has
become a better person and homemaker
because of her involvement with the
Extension Homemakers" organization.
f ' ' a
Two Duplin Students Johnston Scholars
Two studonis from Duplin
arc among outstanding
scholars at UNC-CH study
ing this year under the
prestigious James M. John
son Scholarship Program.
They arc Mark Keanc Brown
of Chinquapin, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Matthew- W.
Brown, a graduate of East
Duplin, and Betty Ruth
Carter of Calypso, daughter
?if Mr. and Mrs. .Ionics E.
tarter, a graduate of North
Duplin.
The James M. Johnston
Scholarship Program is the
largest scholarship program
in the l)NC system and in the
state in amount of money
awarded and number of stu
dents enrolled. It provides a
half-million dollars each year
for UNC-CH students. Addi
tional Johnston Scholarships
are Riven to students
special programs at UNC-G
and NCSU.
"The Johnston awards
program is intended to open
wide the doors of the Uni
versity to the ablest young
people who apply and who
need financial assistance." <
said William M. Gcer.
UNC-CH director of student
aid and program administra
tor. ?
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In Duplin
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Along Tho Way
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