PROGRESS SENTINEL
OL. XXXXV NO. 20 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 MAY 16. 1980 10 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
9
Duplin Register Of Deeds Race
Decided In Final Count
Duplin County political
nterest last week was cen
ered on' the close race for
| egister of deeds in the
* Democratic primary, a race
lot decided until the final
irecincts were counted early
Wednesday.
Christine Whaley
iVilliams, the 28-year
'eteran of the post, forged
ihead.
The final unofficial tally
vas 3,941 votes for Ms.
I^^illiams and 3,490 for Ann
"punter of Chinquapin. Ms.
Tunter led in 11 precincts
ind Ms. Williams in 10.
The runner-up candidate
or the single board of edu
cation seat open in the
irimary said Wednesday he
ntends to call for a runoff
/ote next month. The incum
ient, G. Frederick Rhodes of
Smith's Township, will lose
lis seat when the new board
member is sworn into office
Em April. His 1,574 votes
ranked him third among the
1 four candidates.
Topping the board of edu
? ? I ?
cation field was Faye C.
Bryant of Rose Hill with
2,344 votes. Second was
Hilbert Joe Swinson of Al
bertson Township with 1,721
votes. To obtain a clear
majority, a candidate needed
3,507 votes in the race.
Board of education mem
bers are elected to 6-vear
terms on a partisan ballot.
However, the winner of the
Democratic primary will face
no opposition in November.
John (Steve) Kilpatrick of
Kenansville ranked fourth in
the race with 1,373 votes.
Terms of county commis
sioners representing District
1, comprising Warsaw and
Faison Townships, and Dis
trict 5, including Rose Hill,
Magnolia and Kenansville
Townships, will expire in
December.
D.J. Fussell of Rose Hill
failed to win a majority in the
District 5 race and may face a
runoff challenge from
runner-up J.B. Stroud of
Magnolia. Stroud had not
stated his intention on the
?
matter by press time. Fussell
received 877 votes and
Stroud. 460. Robert Lee
Allen of Magnolia received
441. Fussell came within 13
votes of the 890 he needed
for a clear majority. Com
missioners are voted on only
by the voters of their dis
tricts.
W.J. Costin won his race
for District 1 by receiving 732
votes to 513 for Allen Vann
Moirisey and 193 for A.C.
Lockamy. No Republican
candidates filed for either
seat.
Election Board Chairman
Claude Heplet said 8,194
persons voted out of a total
registration of 21,116.
Tenth District Represen
tative Doug Oark won with
4,627 to 2,791 votes for Lloyd
Stevens.
Results on Page 8
Swinson Files
For Run-Off
Hilbert Joe Swinson of
Mount Olive filed last Friday
for a run-off in the race for
the seat on the Duplin Board
of Education.
Swinson received the
second highest number of
votes which entitled him to
call for a run-off with candi
date Faye C. Bryant of Rose
Hilt. Swinson, the assistant
principal of Beulaville
Elementary School, received
1,721 votes to Bryant's
2,344.
"1 am requesting a run-off
at this time to offer the
approximately 3,000
supporters of Mr. Rhodes p
and Mr. Kilpatrick the op- p
portunity which they deserve p
to determine which of the r
two remaining candidates
will serve the people of t]
Duplin County in such a y
responsible position for the
next six years," Swinson
said.
While teaching in the
public schools, Swinson has "
coached baseball and football
and he served three years as
assistant principal of Charity i
Junior High before taking
the job at Beulaville Ele
mentary. He is married and
two of Swinson's four chil
dren are graduates of Duplin r
County schools. Swinson has t
a B.S. degree from Pern- v
broke State University and a f
master's degree in education 1
and school administration t
and supervision from Bowie ii
State College in Maryland.
Faye Bryant, candidate for f
the board of education, is a t
1976 graduate of Fayetteville s
State University where she a
received a B.A. degree in S
social sciences. Bryant is f
currently teaching part-time 1
at James Sprunt Technical 1
College. t
According to Swinson, b
North Carolina laws will pro- o
hibit him from serving on the d
Duplin Board of Education at v
the same time he is b
employed in the public t
schools of the county. If v
elected, Swinson said, he P
would seek employment in
another county in order to s
serve on the Duplin County b
board. And, Swinson added, w
he would continue to serve at b
his present job until the law v
would require him to resign, b
which would be the day a
before being sworn into s
office in April of 1981. 5
a
s
oen. naraison dpeaks At Goshen
Groundbreaking Ceremony
r
Groundbreaking cere
monies for the Goshen
Medical Center were held
Saturday, May 10, with
Senator Harold Hardison as
guest speaker.
Hardison challenged the
Goshen board of directors
and the Faison community to
continue to improve upon the
medical center. He termed
k the groundbi caking a major
* item in the lives of the
citizens.
"This facility is going to be
one of the finest facilities
known to man. It may not be
one of the largest," Hardison
said, "but the citizens in
Faison will only know its
value after it opens."
"Things that cost the most
and worked for the hardest
f are the things that you
appreciate the most," Har
dison added. And he said
that Faison would be one of
the first communities with a
facility such as the Goshen
Medical Center, which
Hardison said would be the
route of medical services in
the future.
Contracts for the Goshen
Medical Center were let May
6th. Construction of the
| 5,000 square foot building
was awarded to Patrick Con
struction Company in
Fayetteville. The medical
center received a federal
Rural Health Incentive grant
for S312.000 to construct the
building, and the total costs
after contracts were let was
$290,530. An additional
$80,000-590,000 will be
needed to equip the two
medical wings and the
dentistry wing of the build
ing.
Construction of the build
ing is scheduled to start
within the nrttt 30 da^s, and
the building will be complete
160 days after construction
begins, Glenn Jernigan,
chairman of the Goshen
Medical Center Board of
Directors, said during the
groundbreaking ceremony.
About 50 citizens attended
the groundbreaking, in
cluding members of the
Goshen Board of Directors,
County Commissioners
William Costin and Calvin C.
Turner, County Manager
Ralph Cottle, U.S. Health
and Human Services Depart
ment Project Officer Alex
Dobson, Goshen Medical
Center Director George Wal
lace and Faison Mayor Bill
Carter.
Goshen Medical Center is
owned by a private nonprofit
corporation which was
formed in 1978 by 21 citizens
in Faison, Wolfscrape and
Glisson Townships. And the
entire project has been
funded by grants from the
Rural Health Initiative, with
the land for the building
being donated by the Luther
Taylor family of Faison.
The goal of the project is to
draw long-term medical
services to the Faison com
munity, and the medical
center will be constructed to
accommodate two medical
doctors and one dentist. A
dentist, Dr. Bob Carmen, has
been recruited, and the
physician recruitment efforts
are still underway, said
Wallace, director of the
medical center.
Store
Destroyed
By Fire
The Major Kornegay store
and service station on U.S.
117 north of Magnolia was
destroyed by fire Sunday.
Town Commissioner
Melvin Pope said he found
the building engulfed in
flames when he arrived with
the first Magnolia Volunteer
Fire Department truck to
arrive at the scene.
Mrs. Major Kornegay,
wife of the owner, said she
jiid not know the extent of
the loss. She said the SBI
investigated and told her the
fire started at the fuse box.
The business provided the
family with most of their
income, she added. She said
they had $18,000 insurance
on the building and contents.
Nothing was saved at the
store, she added.
HENIUS PICKETT IN THE 1980 LIBERTY CART Steve
'orter of Murray, Kentucky, will be playing the role of
'henius Pickett, the peddler through whom the story of
luplin County's heritage is told in THE LIBERTY CART,
n outdoor drama. The drama, performed on the stage of
!ie William Rand Kenan, Jr. Amphitheatre in Kenans
ille, will begin its season July 18 with performances each
Photo by Emily Killotto
Thursday through Sunday night until August 24. Porter is
a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he
received a degree in theatre. THE LIBERTY CART will be
his second performance in an outdoor drama; he portrayed
Daniel Boone last summer at Harrodsburg, Ky., in the
outdoor drama of the Legend of Daniel Boone.
Kenansville Board
Approves Downtown Turning Lanes
.During (h? regular
rjonthly meeting last week,
he Kenansville town board
oted to accept a proposal
rom the Department of
ransportation adding a
uming lane to Highway 11
n downtown Kenansville.
Spokesman for DOT,
toger Hawkins, presented
he board with a sketch
howing the turn lane in the
rea between the Lodge
'treet intersection with
fighway 11 and the Rut
edge Street intersection,
lawkins informed the board
hat parking would no longer
>e possible with the addition
f a turning lane to the
lowntown section of High
ly 11, but only parking
etween Jackson's IGA and
he Western Auto store
/ould be affected by the
iroposal.
After traffic counts and
tudies done by DOT,
lawkins said, traffic lights
/ere not considered to be the
est solution to Kenans
ille's traffic problems,
lowever, he added that an
dditional study of the inter
ection of Highways 11 and
0 will be conducted this fall
fter the new elementary
chool is opened. Hawkins
ndicated that the intersec
ion would receive priority if
he transportation depart
nent issued traffic lights in
lenansville. The intersec
ion of Highways 24 and 11
/ould be the department's
econd priority for lights.
A motion was made to
ccept the department pro
posal as presented by Haw
ins, and the motion carried
'ith only Commissioner
Villiam Fennell opposing
he proposal. Fennell stated
hat more study of the pro
osal should be done with
he local citizens and mer
hants having more of an
nput. Town Administrator
Voody Brinson was in
truded to send a letter to
he Department of Trans
ortation accepting the pro
osal for the addition of a
timing lane to the downtown
ection of Highway 11. Brin
on was also instructed to
equest that the speed limit
n Highway 11 between the
itersection with 24 at the
cotchman convenience store
nd James Sprunt Technical
.'ollege be raised at least to
5 miles an hour.
The board met with repre
entatives from the Kenans
ille Volunteer Fire Depart
tent to discuss the expan
ion of the fire station/town
all combination building,
md the board unanimously
passed a motion to hire an
architect to work up an
expansion sketch and
estimate costs to be brought
before the board as soon as
possible.
In 1972 the town entered
into a contract with the fire
department which allowed
the town to locate offices in
the fire station. The 15-year
contract required the town to
pay for the renovations to the
fire station lounge and
kitchen into office spaces,
and the upkeep and thr
eventual replacement of tl;e
pumper truck, during the
first five years of the agree
ment. Within the second five
years, which Kenansville is
now in, the town is reauired
to build on additional office
space and a bay for trucks. In
the last five years of the
agreement, the town will be
required to expand the
meeting room, which will
also serve as the election
area. Lipon the compr ti<>n -if
the third phase, the fire
department can make no
other requests of the town,
but both parties will continue
to provide for the upkeep of
the building.
The total expansion of the
fire station will cost $80,000,
Fire Chief Lauren Sharpe
estimated. Mayor Douglas
Judge stated that as an
alternative, the board could
buy a building. However,
Judge added, an estimated
cost to purchase either the
old Federal Land Bank or
Production Credit
Association building would
be about $125,000.
According to the town ad
ministrator, the cost of
expanding the fire station, if
the board chose to do so,
would raise the town tax rate
about 4'/j cents.
If the board chooses to
expand the (ire station,
Sh? pe said,' tVe fire depart
ment would negotiate a loan
with Farmers Home
Administration for the cost of
the project. According to
Sharpe, the Kenansville Fire
Department would receive a
5% interest rate from the
FmHA. which is lower than
the town could borrow the
money. However, Sharpe
encouraged the board to
make a decision as quickly as
possible before the interest
rate on FmHA loans in
creases in the fall.
The board moved to hire
an architect to design the
expansion of the building for
both the second and third
five-year periods and present
the beard with estimated
costs. The board agreed to
schedule a special meeting to
further discuss the expansion
as soon as the architect
finishes the plans and deter
mines the cost of the project.
Duplin Valuation
Up M0.4 Million
?
Duplin. County's assessed
valuation has increased
$10,401,630 in the past year.
Tax Supervisor Frank B.
Moore reported last Monday
at the County Commis
sioners' first sitting in 1980
as a board of equalization
and review.
No one appeared to protest
individual tax valuations
Monday. The board will hold
its second equalization and
review session at 2 p.m. on
May 19.
Moore said the county's
total valuation is expected to
top $600 million this year.
Last year's valuation was
$585 million. Much of the
increased valuation came
.from new poultry houses, he
said.
In Limestone Township,
where the increase was
$1,154,955, turkey houses
operated by James Albertson
and Ward Rouse accounted
for $165,760; a new store to
replace one that burned, for
$152,410.
Buildings to house swine
operations accounted for
$577,000 of the $743,910 in
crease in Magnolia Town
ship. Carrolls of Warsaw and
Wendell Murphy of Rose Hill
added hog building*. _
Additions to Guilford Mills
and Reeves Brothers plants
*
accounted for $770,000 of the
$1,602,620 increase in
Kenansville Township. Four
turkey houses built by Jack
Stephens added another
$82,000.
The Glendale Apartments
in Wallace added $666,190 to
the Island Creek Township
increase, which totaled $1.8
million.
In other business, the
commissioners awarded a
contract for kitchen equip
ment for preparing meals for
the elderly to Thompson and
Little of Wilmington on a bid
of $34,526.88. The equip
ment will be installed in the
kitchen of the former county
jail building in Kenansville.
Moore, who is also
veterans' service officer, said
$2,862,488 came into the
county in the past year in the
form of Veterans Adminis
tration checks for insurance,
vocational rehabilitation and
disability compensation.
The hearing on revenue
sharing funds was un
attended. The board expects
to receive $780,000 in federal
revenue sharing money this
year, a drop of $60,000 from
last year.
Killed In Home Fire
A 24-year-old woman was
killed Friday when her
mobile home near Rose Hill
burned while she slept!
Police said Patricia Ann
Frederick died when a fire
swept through her trailer at
the city limits of Rose Hill.
Police Chief James C.
Masters said the fire appar
ently began about 3:10 a.m.
in the kitchen of the trailer.
He said Miss Frederick had
been cooking.
Miss Frederick's 4-year
old daughter was with her
grandparents at the time of
the fire and was not injured.
Loan Funds Delayed
Larry Cherry, Charlotte
district director of the U.S.
Small Business Administra
tion stated lost week that the
agency is temporarily out of
disaster loan monies due to
the large number of natural
disasters across the country
in recent months. However,
the agency will continue to
accept and process loan
applications
&
GOSHEN MEDICAL CENTER GROUNDBREAKING
Senator Harold Hardison and Alex Dobsen from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services in Atlanta.
Ga., were among the many guests on hand for the
groundbreaking ceremonies for Goshen Medical Center.
The center is designed to provide office space and
equipment for two physicians and one dentist. Construc
I
tion is scheduled to begin within the next 30 days. s
Pictured, left to right, Goshen Medical Center Director v
George Wallace, Faison Mayor Bill Carter, Chairman of n
Goshen Medical Center Board of Directors Glenn s
Jernigan, Faison veterinarian. Dr. Frank Taylor, Hardison h
and Dobsen. A
t 1