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PROGRESS SENTINEL
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VOL. XXXXV NO. 33 USPS 162-860 KENANSVItLE. NC 28349 AUGUST 14, 1980 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
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PROGRAM FOR NON-FARMING LAND
OWNERS - The Duplin County Agricultural
Extension Service and the Soil and Water
Conservation District sponsored the first meeting
especially for non-farming landowners in the
county. Guest speakers appeared before the
group of approximately 60 people discussing
topics involved with leasing land. The Monday
morning meeting was followed by an afternoon
tour of farms within the county. Lunch was
provided by the Kenansville Production Credit
Association. Pictured above, left to right.
Kenneth Futreal of the Duplin Soil and Water
Conservation, Bill Eickhoff, an economist at
North Carolina State University, Lois Britt,
chairman of the Duplin Extension Service, and
Roy Houston, president of Production Credit
Association. Photo by Emilv Killette
?Beulaville Board Votes No To Blue Laws
By a split vote last week,
the Beulaville town board
rejected limitations on Sun
day sales in the town.
Voting to apply blue laws
' was Commissioner Monk
Whaley. Opposing applica
tion of the sales limitation
were Commissioners Wilbur
^Hussey, Sambo Blizzard,
Frank Boyette and Rabon
Brown.
Whaley said petitions
calling for a referendum on !
beer and wine sales have 1
received sufficient signa- I
tures for a vote to be held, s
although no date has been i
set. He said he wanted thfe (
Sunday sales limitations in I
case beer and wine sales <
were voted in by the people <
to prevent Beulaville from \
turning into another Jack- i
sonville. t
Mayor Marion Edwards 1
>aid the question was
wrought up before the board
because of complaints of
some citizens. The town has
to blue law. The town at
orney drew up a blue law
:hat would have closed
:verything, including coin
>perated telephones,
/ending machines, self-ser
/ice gasoline pumps or any
hing that constituted a
business.
Jimmy Jackson, IGA store
owner, said the proposed
sales ban would be "like
legislating religion and you
can't (do that." He sai^ his
employees who wish to go to
church are let off for this
time.
Billy Murphy, an owner of
the Easy Shop convenience
store, said, "The number of
sales on our cash register
tapes would be votes for
being open on Sundays. If
people did not patronize us,
we wouldn't be open on
Sundays."
. "If ytm close us down,
'ifjrifeone will open up just
outside the city limits so you
won't have solved anything,
and those who want to buy on
Sundays will simply go to
Kenansville," Ray Smith,
owner of Ray's Service
Center, commented.
"Commissioners voting
against the Sunday sales ban
said people who had talked
with them about the matter
had urged leaving things as
th<;v have been.
bee Blankfard, represent
ing the library board, re
ceived permission to hire an
assistant for 17.5 hours per
week to fill in for a CETA
worker who must attend
school for 16 working days.
The concept of a curfew,
except in times of emer
gency, was called illegal by
Town Attorney Rusty Lanier,
in response to a directive by
the board to look into the
possibility of establishing a
curfew.
An ordinance barring pos
session or consumption of
alcoholic beverages in public
was approved by the board.
Kenansville Board Meets
Two Speed Limits Raised
By Emily KUIette
Two speed limits and three
parking ordinances were
passed by the Kenansville
Board of Commissioners
during their regular monthly
meeting August 4.
A speed ordinance raising
the limit from 35 miles per
hour to 45 was approved by
the board for a section of
fe highway 11. The speed limit
? will be increased from War
saw Road to the city limits
near James Sprunt Technical
College. The board also ap
proved an ordinance declar
ing the town speed limit 35
miles per hour unless
otherwise posted.
Two handicapped parking
ordinances were adopted by
kthe town board. Special
? parking spaces will be
marked on each side of
Duplin Street, one in front of
the Health Annex and a
second in front of the west
entrance to the courthouse.
A third parking ordinance
was approved by the com
missioners which will not
tt allow parking on Main Street
'The no-parking ordinance
was adopted as part of the
plan to have three lanes
marked on Main Street. The
third lane will be designated
as a turning lane.
Public Works Director
Larry Hoffman informed the
town board of water leaks or
Main Street. The leaks are
part of about six waterline
leaks in the town. Among the
worst, Hoffman said, are the
leaks at Jackson's IGA and
on Highway 24 east. Some of
the water leaks are more
than a month old. and state
highway officials have
demanded that the leaks be
fixed on NC 24 and It. the
public works director said.
The leaks in the Kenans
ville water system can be
seen as wet spots on the
roads around town. One con
tractor contacted by Hoffman
agreed to fix all the waterline
leaks for $1,700.
"We do not have enough
manpower to do the job.
There are only four people
working, and two of these
run the trash truck until noon
each day." Hoffman said.
Hoffman added that
several men would be
needed to repair the lines on
Main Street; at least one
person would be needed to
direct traffic. After discus
sion by the board, an agree
ment was made with the
town police department to
i direct traffic and the public
works department to repair
the leaks. Mayor Douglas
Judge requested the leaks on
Main Street be given pri
ority. Judge stated that
funds to hire a contractor to
repair the leaks were not
available in the 1980-81 bud
get.'
Town Administrator
Woody Brinson reported the
water improvement project is
ready to begin. A resolution
was adopted by the board to
authorize local government
officials to begin selling the
bond anticipation notes to
finance the water project.
The town board presented
resolutions of appreciation to
former town employees
Sandra V. Middleton and
H.C. Mitchell. Ms. Middle
ton served as an office em
ployee at the town hall since
1977. and was town clerk.
Mitchell had served Kenans
ville five years as a police
officer. Following Ms.
Middleton's resignation, the
board appointed Mary Ann
Jenkins as town clerk.
A letter from the county
board of commissioners was
read by Brinson. The com
missioners requested the
town board make a recom
mendation for an appoint
ment to the Duplin Airport
Commission.
Two architects' sketches of
the fire department/town
hall expansion were shown at
the board meeting. Brinson
explained that the fire de
partment had recommended
the expansion plan which
included two entrances. The
entrances would give both
the ftre department and town
hall individual entrances.
Commissioners Betty Long
and William Fennell were
not present for the board
meeting.
iCIasses Begin Sept. 2
Duplin Schools Prepare To Open
Preparation for the
1980-81 school year has in
^ eluded delivery of 17,800 text
w books to the 17 schools of the
system.
Another feature of the new
school year will be opening of
the new Kenansville
Elementary School and re
tirement as a school building
of the half-century-old
structure near Kenan Me
morial Auditorium and
Duplin General Hospital in
Kenansville.
. The system will lose 14
I teaching positions due to
decreasing attendance, ac
cording to L.S. Guy, assis
tant superintendent. The
system will open with 450
teachers this fall.
Anticipated enrollment is
8,600 students, he added, an
expected decrease of about
400 from last year. Of the
total, an estimated 630 stu
dents will be in kindergarten,
about the same as last year.
Teachers will report
August 20. Student orienta
tion will be August 27 and
classes will begin September
2.
I
Guy estimated 531 seniors
will be graduated in the
spring compared with 592
last spring. He said the
dropout rate lias been about
7.9 percent.
Guy said the administra
tion is attempting to return
the 14 teachers to the system
by replacing retiring or re
signing teachers with those
whose positions have been
eliminated.
Education is a major busi
ness operation in a rural
county, adding S15 million to
the economy. Teachers'
salaries total S9.7 million.
Farmer
Injured By
Hay Baler
Combine
A Duplin County farmer
was seriously injured Satur
day when his arm became
caught in an operating com
bine, the Sheriff s Depart
ment reported.
The victim, indentified as
Robert Ray Thomas, was
transported to New Hanover
Hospital after the Duplin
County Rescue Squad an
swered the call for a farm
between Cabin and Sarecta
at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Late Saturday he was still
being treated at the
emergency room, and
Sunday his condition waa
listed as stable.
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Stabbing
Kills
Rose Hill
Man
A Rose Hill man was
stabbed to death late Satur
day night and the man who
called him 'dad' has been
charged with the murder, a
sheriff's deputy said.
Woodrow Graham, 61, an
employee of the Duplin
County Landfill, was killed a
little before 11:20 D.m.. said
Alfred Baysden, a deputy
who answered the call from
Graham's neighbor.
Apparently Robert Ointon
Bass, 23, who is being held
in the county jail at Kenans
ville, went to the neighbor's
home to say that someone
had killed his 'dad.'
Graham had raised Bass
since a baby, but was not his
legal father, officials said.
Both Graham and Bass live
u t mile west of Rose Hill,
?vfcere the murder occurred.
Baysden said the murder
weapon had not been found.
||t was being assisted in the
investigation by the SBI and
ite Rose Hill Police Depart -
? Bass was arrested in Wal
lace at about 3 a.m. Sunday
?Inrning and charged with
.?urder at 7 a.m. A mobile
(rtrne lab was sent to the
scene. The investigation
jptiauH.
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Housing For Elderly
Citizens In Faison
By Emily Klllette
Plans for an elderly hous
ing complex were discussed
with the Faison Board of
Commissioners during their
regular meeting last week.
Dewayne Anderson and
William Howell of Anderson,
Benton & Holmes in Win
ston-Salem apeared before
the Faison commissioners.
Anderson explained the
complex would consist of 26
one-bedroom units and three
two-bedroom units. Only
applicants 62 years of age
and older would be con
sidered for tenants in the
complex. The housing
complex will be privately
owned and locally managed.
Anderson said. David Weil of
Goldsboro will be managing
the housing complex. It will
be operated under the same
guidelines as the Goldsboro
Hotel, which was restored
and renovated for renting to
the elderly, Anderson said.
Also, ten percent of the units
will be designed to accom
modate the handicapped, es
pecially the elderly person
restricted to a wheelchair.
The units will be con
structed near Hick Street.
Anderson explained that all
sewer and waterlines and
meters will be installed by
the contruction crew working
on the project. A lift station
will be constructed on Hick
St.. and water and sewer
work will be done to town
specifications, "Anderson,.
said. At the end of the
construction, all water and
sewer lines, along with the
sewage lift station, will be
deeded to the town. The
project will be billed for one
water tap fee and one sewer
tap. Each apartment will be
individually metered and
residents will be billed by the
town for utilities.
The town will also be
responsible for running a
400-foot extension of the
waterline on Hick Street from
Highway #117. Each apart
ment will be on the ground
level and have individual
patios. Construction on the
project will not begin for
another six months to a year,
Anderson said. The final
architectual plans have been
submitted to the department
of housing and Urban De
velopment and are expected
to be approved by September
30th, Anderson added.
Units in the complex will
be advertised upon comple
tion, and a mixture of dif
ferent income senior citizens
will be selected as tenants,
Anderson said.
Future of School
Building Still
a Mystery
The controversy over
future ownership of the old
Kenansville elementary
School building, which will
be abandoned when the new
building opens this fall, is
continuing.
The Duplin CJounty Board
of Education adopted a reso
lution Monday night to lease
the school playground area to
the town of Kenansville or its
recreation commission for
ten years at $1 per year. If
the school system needs the
land within that time, it will
be able to take it back and
pay the recreation depart
ment for any -capital im
provements on the property.
Ffjc i-foHrtiorv -aluoj'carT?:
fre the school bcar.f to Vtitain
the old building a> J re
mainder of the grounds until
the disposition of the E.E.
Smith School has b? :en re
solved.
The county commissioners
have also been seeking title
to the property.
Earlier, the commissioners
tied the transfer of $100,000
from the school system's
capital outlay budget to the
current expense budget was
to a of the title to the county.
The school system has
been operating on an
interim budget, pending
transfer of the money. If
$145,000 is not turned over.
Superintendent C.H. Yelver
ton said the interim budget
would become the 1980-81
fiscal year budget.
The resolution was intro
duced by Fred Rhodes and
supported by Rhodes, James
Strickland and E.L. Boyette.
Absent were Patricia Broad
rick and Graham Phillips.
The board also decided to
ask 'he commissioners to
transK-r $43,000 fror. capital
outlay' to current expense if
thev will not transfer the
$145,000. The 43,000 would
be used to eliminate student
vocational and book fees.
A study, authorized by the
school board to determine
possible uses for the old
school building, listed 24
possibilities. The Kenans
ville Fire Department con
acmnea trie Duiidmg three
years ago.
Rich Bovd, director of THE
LIBERTY CART and
member of the study com
mittee, reported the struc
ture would be ideal for use as
an arts center. It could also
be used as a community
center, storage space, or a
centralized meeting place, or
for community school pro
grams.
In other business, Shelby
Kilpatrick. food services
director, reported an in
crease in lunch charges for
this fall.
She explained it costs 31
cents to produce one break
fast which has been sold for
25 cents, while lunches ?
which sell for 60 cents in
junior and senior high
schools and 55 cents in lower
grades ? cost $l,14each.
The new schedule will put
breakfast at 35 cents for
students and 60 cents for
adults. Lunch will be 60 cents
for grade students. 65 cents
for junior and senior high
students, and SI.15 for
adults.
She said the average
monthly expenditure for the
school lunch program is
$171,699.40.
The board also directed
school principals to check on
student immunizations under
the new immunization law.
JSTC Expects
Enrollment Gains
Applications now indicate
an autumn quarter enroll
ment of about 800 students at
James Sprunt Technical Col
lege here, an increase of
about 10 percent over a year
ago, according to Dean of
Students Gene Ballard.
The autumn quarter will
open with registration Sept.
24 with classes beginning the
following day. 4
Students attend the col
lege from throughout the
region. Last year, 69 stu- I
dents came from Pender
County, 14 from New i
Hanover, 23 from Onslow, 22
from Sampson, 26 from <
Wayne and 14 from Lenoir I
counties. Most of these were
enrolled in the health occu- <
pations courses. i
The school offers 23 tech- <
nical and vocational pro- <
grams plus a college transfer <
program which is operated I
with the cooperation of the
University of North Carolina (
at Wilmington. I
Ballard said the school has I
a faculty and staff of 106 <
{tersons, most of whom have
been with the institution
several years.
The school emphasizes
competence in their fields
before granting certificates
of graduation to vocational
and technical students, he
emphasized, and also noted
the teaching is on an individ
ualized basis.
The school began a geri
atric assistance training pro
gram last spring which will i
be offered this fall. Another I
program new to the fall term
will be diesel mechanics. I
Ballard said a dual enroll
ment program has been i
worked between the Duplin
County high schools and the i
college whereby exceptional i
high school seniors will be
able to take college level
courses for college credit at
James Sprunt. He said 45
high school seniors will be
included in the initial pro
gram. The maximum partici
pation, allowed by the state,
is five percent of the senior
class enrollment of the
county.
James Sprunt will also be
pioneering a program
through which the work com
pleted by a student in high
school or elsewhere will not
have to be repeated here as
that student attempts to con
tinue his education. Pre
viously, he said, some stu
dents had to repeat work
they had completed.
The school has been in
operation since 1964, at first
in buildings scattered all
jver Duplin County. It has
operated on its present
:ampus since 1967 when the
first building was completed.
It is operating on a budget
)f $2,137,557 for the current
riscal year. Of the total
1291,550 is provided from
tounty tax funds.
It's Time To Immunize
The General Assembly
ratified a new immunization
law February 16, 1979. Be
ginning with the 1980-81
school year, the law requires
that all children, kindergar
ten through grade 12, and
out-of-state transfer students
have the following immuni
zations: 3 DPT (diptheria.
tetanus and pertussis) shots.
3 oral polio vaccine (OPV)
doses, one measles (rubeola)
shot after one year of age,
and one rubella 'German
measles) shot.
The schedule for obtaining
immunizations through the
Health Department is as
follows: Fatson Town Hall.
1st Monday. 11:00 - 12:00
noon; Warsaw Town Hall,
1st Monday, 1:30-3:30 p.m.:
Rose Hill Town Hall, 1st
Tuesday, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.;
Wallace Town Hall, 1st
Tuesday, 2:15 - 3:30 p.m.;
Beulaville Town Hall, 2nd
Thursday, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Chinquapin (Rescue
Building). 2nd Thursday,
2:15 - 3:30 p.m.; and
Kenansville Heahh Depart
ment, every Monday from
8-11:30 a.m., and 1-4:30
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