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9
PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXV NO. 21 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE NC 28349 MAY22.1980 12 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Magnolia Acting Mayor Refuses
To Hold Office After Julv 1
Melvin Pope,, town com
I missioner and former mayor
' who has been serving as
acting mayor in the absence
of a regularly elected mayor,
told the town board last
Tuesday he would no longer
act as mayor.
The former mayor had
declined to run for re-elec
tion in the last town election.
Marjorie Pickett, who ran for
the position refused to be
) sworn into the post after
winning without opposition.
Since that time Pope has
of it any longer. I don't have
the time to run my business
and the town. I've not been
able to work in my business
so far this week. I have asked
everybody to be mayor and
nobody has come forward."
He asked each commissioner
to take the position, and all
r
refused.
Pope said he will remain as
acting mayor until July 1, but
at the July meeting he will sit
in the commissioner's chair
to which he was elected, and
someone else would have to
be acting as mayor.
served as acting mayor at the
request of the board.
"I flat don't want any part
Library
Summer
r Program
The Duplin County
Dorothy Wightman Library
will kick off its 1980 county
wide summer story and film
program with a story-telling
festival on the Courthouse
lawn in Kenansville on Wed
nesday, June 4th from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. In case of rain,
| the festival will be held June
6th. Library staff members.
Mrs. Marie ioaa ana Mrs.
Eva Miller, have planned a
program of story-telling,
songs and other activities.
The public is invited to
attend.
A complete stimoi'er
reading and sto y-telHng
program is planned by the
staff. Dates and times are
being scheduled and will be
I announced later. This has
been a popular summer acti
vity for children for several
summers. Parents and chil
dren are urged to start now
to make plans to participate,
said Roberta Williams, the
new library director.
Awards Night
At Extended
Day School
On Thursday night. May
29, 1980 at 8:00 P.M. there
will be an awards night at
Duplin County Extended Day
School in the E.E. Smith Jr.
High School Gym.
Many of the teachers at
Extended Day School will
take this opportunity to give
special recognition to some
of their students.
? The Extended Day School
Director, W.T. Stokes, the
faculty, and students invite
all friends, relatives, and
concerned citizens to attend.
Memorial Day
Service Monday
The American Legion will
conduct Memorial Day Ser
vices in honor or the nation's
war dead at 11:00 A.M.,
Monday, May 26, 1980, at
Pinecrest Cemetery, Com
mander Robert L. West, Of
Charles R. Gavin Post No.
127, announced today.
Chairman of this year's
Memorial Day observance is
J.P. Johnson who outlines
some of the details of the
past's Memorial Day cere
monies.
Chairman Johnson ex
plained that this years obser
vance will include such items
as the reading of a list of the
known deceased Veterans,
the Memorial Day Prayer,
the placing of Flags and/or
flowers on the graves, and
the sounding of Taps, is
scheduled.
Post #127 will be one of
thousands of American
Legion and Auxiliary organi
zations throughout the land
which will be leading local
observances of Memorial
Day. Similar services to be
conducted in American over
seas military cemeteries, are
being planned and carried
out in many instances by
Legionnaires living in foreign
lands.
"It is this tradition which
The American Legion
proudly serves in Warsaw,
Faison, and Kenansville
area," West stated.
Rose Hill's Tax
Valuation Increases
By $2 Million
An increase of about $2
million in assessed valuation
for Rose Hill in the past year
was announced by C.T.
Fussell, town administrator
at the town board meeting
last week.
Fussell said the current
valuation stands at $15
million compared with $13
million last year. Fussell
presented a proposed budget
to the town board for study.
The proposal would call for a
gross of $112,500. The gross
levy for the 1979-80 fiscal
year was $97,500. The pro
posed budget would hold the
tax levy at 75 cents per $100
assessed valuation.
The town's total 1979-80
budget was $195,710. The
1980-81 proposal calls for a
total expenditure of $206,
200. The proposal estimates
revenue from sources other
than the ad valorem tax at
$127,950. However, $43,000
was carried over from the
1979-80 budget in unspent
funds.
The board plans to have a
second town sewer bond
referendum in mid-August.
A water and sewer bond
proposal was defeated in
March. The board proposes
to ask for $375,000 in the
referendum.
Police Chief James
Masters reported his depart
ment is conserving on gaso
line use by reducing some
activities such as patrolling
the Rose-Hill Magnolia
school grounds a mile out
side of the city limits and
some escort services. Offi
cers will no longer chase
suspected criminals without
a warrant. Such chases could
get the department in
trouble. Town Attorney
Richard Burrows said.
The board set a public
hearing May 27 on a question
of building 20 townhouses in
the city at an estimated cost
of $670,000. Building the
proposed townhouses would
be C immunity Research and
Development Associates of
Durham.
PUPPY LOVE - Beagle puppies are naturally curious animals. The above
puppies are three of a family of eight. The puppies are around and about
everything, examining their new world and trying out their new skills
Photo by Emily Killotto
the still shaky run. the short sharp bark and the gnaw of new teeth. And
even if the puppies chew on your toes and shoes as you try to pet them,
who could help but love them when you look into their big brown eyes?
Warsaw City Limits To Expand
4 Acres To Apartment Land
The Warsaw city limits will
?bfc expanded to ijtt4-^*r about
four acres on the' north side
of town in order to accommo
date 30-35 townhouse apart
ments which the Community
Research and Development
Association of Durham plans
to build in Warsaw. The town
board last week directed
Town Attorney Jene
Thompson to open annexa
tion proceedings.
The apartment complex
will be financed through
federal funds. One of the
requirements for funding is
that it be located within the
city limits.
The board also held a
public hearing on a $415,000
development grant from the
Department of Housing and
Urban Development which it
expects to receive to re
habilitate 40-50 houses on
U.S. 117 on the south side of
town. Warsaw's pre-applica
tion for the grant has been
approved, and town officials
have been told this normally
means the grant will be
approved. A second public
hearing was held Monday at
the town hall.
The board conducted a
public hearing on condem
? tsatjotT ?>f two decrepit
houses, one at 305 W. Hill
St. and the other at 503 N.
Gum Street. No one attended
the hearing. Town Manager
Alfred Herring informed the
board its next step is to
obtain an issue in Superior
Court against the property
owners to allow denMtition of
the buildings unless the
owners either tear down the
structures or repair them to
meet town building
standards. Herring said the
town will demolish the struc
tures and bill the owners for
~ the cost if nothing is done to
the property.
R. E. Wilkins asked for
drainage work on the 500
block of West College Street,
explaining that drainage has
been blocked since the street
is being four-laned and one
inch of rairj would fjood the
grounds o"f l.ve fin petty
owners.
Thurman Gastor, town
maintenance supervisor, said
he is aware of the problem
and is starting to take cor
rective action.
Faison Board Holds Public
Hearing On Revenue Sharing
The Faison town board
held a public hearing on
revenue sharing money dur
ing the regular meeting of
the Board last week.
About 10 Faison citizens
appeared at the hearing to
comment on the use of
revenue sharing money for
the up-coming year. Town
Administrator Neil Mallory
explained that the revenue
sharing program may not be
renewed by Congress in
September, which would re
sult in the loss of funds in the
up-coming year. However,
he said, the town would
receive $3,500 in revenue
sharing funds in the next
three months and $5,000 of
the funds had not been used
in the past year, A total of
$8,500 in revenue sharing
monies was the concern of
the public hearing, and if the
revenue sharing bill is
passed by Congress a new
hearing would be held to
discuss the use of additional
monies. Mallory explained.
Glen Jernigan. Chief of the
Faison fire and rescue de
partments requested that the
Faison Board appropriate the
same amount of revenue
sharing funds for public
safety as allocated in last
year's budget. A representa
tive from the Faison recrea
tion department also re
quested the same amount of
funds as received in the
1979-80 budget from revenue
sharing monies. Suggestions
from the other citizens in
cluded. the use of revenue
sharing funds for ditching,
mosquito control, and the
curbing and guttering of
streets.
At the close of the public
hearing, the Faison Board
returned to their regular
session and discussed the
over-due water bill of James
Jordan which had been ta
bled at the April meeting.
Jordan had appeared before
the Board in April, when he
stated that he should not be
charged a dual water rate.
Jordan said he had con
nccted dual to his water
meter before the 1973 ordi
nance was passed to prohibit
the action, and after receiv
ing the first dual bill in
November of 1979 he cut-off
water to the unused connec
tion on the meter.
According to Commis
sioner Wheless the town
charged a dual rate for three
months before passing a
grandfather clause excluding
persons on dual meters con
nected before the 1973 ordi
nance. During the three
months, Jordan was the only
person who refused to pay
the dual rate, from which the
town collected $979.86, Town
Clerk Hazel Kelly said. The
Board moved to send a letter
to Jordan requesting him to
pay the dual rate for all three
months, totaling a bill of
$195.12, and that the bill be
paid within 10 days or his
water service will be discon
nected.
Police Chief Randy Brock
reported that a part-time
police officer had been hired
to work through the produce
season. According to Brock
the policeman is a full-time
employee of Middlesex po
lice department and will
work weekends in Faison.
Brock said, as the migrant
workers begin to appear in
Faison the number of break
ins increases and a police
man is needed on duty 24
hours a day. The policeman
hired by the Faison Police
Department is Danny A.
Brock, who worked the part
time position last summer
during the produce season,
the police chief said.
At the conclusion of the
meeting. Town Administra
tor Neil Mallory informed the
Commissioners that he
would be resigning at the
end of October, when he
would be employed full-time
with Mount Olive. However,
Mallory said he would con
tinue to work with Faison
until all on-going projects of
the town were completed.
Mallory is employed as a
tri-town administrator, work
ing with the towns of
Fremont. Faison and Mount
Olive.
Duplin General Plays Role In
Reducing Health Care Inflation
by Richard E. Harrell
North Carolina hospitals
are saving more than lives.
Many of them, such as
Duplin General, are saving
energy, supplies, time and
money through participation
in the North Carolina Volun
tary Effort for cost contain
ment. The state Voluntary
Effort (VE) was initiated in
1979 by the state's hospital
and medical leadership as a
response to the problem of
rising health care costs. The
program was primarily re
sponsible for hospitals like
Duplin General to bring the
rate of health care cost
inflation in North Carolina
down by nearly 4 percentage
points during the last year.
Hospitals participating in
the Voluntary Effort are re
cognized for their cost con
tainment achievements on
two levels of certification.
Full and Provisional. Duplin
if
General was provisionally
certified bv the committee as
a cost containment hospital
during its frist year of partici
pation in the voluntary effort
after submitting a resolution
from its board of trustees and
medical staff in support of
the statewide VE program.
(Duplin General earned full
VE certification after meet
ing a more stringent set of
criteria, which involved im
plementation of an ongoing
program to inform its med
ical staff of hospital costs,
establishment of a function
ing cost containment com
mittee, and meeting a strict
expenditure goal determined
by the Voluntary Effort plan
formula.)
Duplin General, like other
hospitals, is uniquely vic
timized by inflation and
government regulations.
Minimum wage increases
have a double-edged effect at
Duplin General, where large
numbers of employees work
at the minimum wage. The
payroll comprises 56% of the
total operating expenses at
Duplin General. The energy
crisis has greatly impacted
the hospital with fuel cost
increases, since it operates at
full capacity 24 hours a day,
365 days a veai-.
W. E. Rove, state VE
coordinator, bus stated, "It
is obvious from the results of
our voluntary effort to
date, that hospitals such as
Duplin Gene J are totally
committed to reducing the
rate of escalation in hospital
expenditures."
Roye. potntr to the suc
cess of the N<?th Carolina
Voluntary Effort plan, noted
that the rate of increase in
hospital costs since January
1979 has remained well be
low the increase in the
consumer price intjex.
1 II
THE NEW DUPLIN COUNTY LIBRARY - Chairman of the
Duplin County Commissioners, Franklin Williams, and
Librarian Roberta Williams, and President of the Friends
of the Library, Milton Rice, are shown with a sketch of the
Pnoto by Emily Klllttt*
new library in the background. At the meeting of the
Friends of the Library, Chairman Williams appeared to
discuss the building of the new library, along with
presenting the group with a sketch of the new building.