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I VOL. XXXXV NO.10 USPS 102-060 KENANSVILLE. .C 28349 MARCH 6. 1981 10 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TA\
Court Date Reminds
Farmers Of Grain
' Facility's Collapse
Eleven years after it failed
and wenti into receivership,
the seemingly endless legal
affairs of the former South
eastern Farmers Grain Asso
ciation at Warsaw will come
up in Duplin County Superior
| Court again.
The receiver, Vance Gavin
of Kenansville, will seek a
final order of distribution of
assets and discharge of the
receiver at 10 a.m. March 9
in Duplin County Superior
Court in Kenansville.
Failure of the grain asso
ciation in 1970 left a bitter
feeling among scores of
Duplin county farmers who
i believed they were left
' "holding the bag" after it
had been emptied of both
grain and money. Creditors
listed SI .4 million in claims
against the grain association,
including three mortgages on
the property along U.S. 117 a
short distance south of War
saw, at the request of the
receivership in 1971.
Odell Wood, a Warsaw
farmer who lost money in the
I collapse, said this past week
he believes the state should
tighten regulations and in
crease bonds for grain faci
lities to prevent such hap
penings. Ins opinion has
been stated repeatedly by
farmers throughout eastern
North Carolina in the past
year as thfee prjv?'^ *oMn
dealing firms have gone ou^
of business, leaving many
| farmers without their grain
or money.
"Any time priorities are
set up in something like this,
the farmer always winds up
at the bottom end of the
totem pole holding the bag,"
he declared, adding, "I feel
bitter about it. I'd have
been better oft with a bad
crop that year. At least I
wouldn't have had to pay for
the harvest."
I John Godbold of Warsaw
is another farmer who lost
about $7,000 in the collapse.
He strongly believes mea
sures providing farmers
' y v
better protection from such
events should be approved.
Both farmers say they are
highly skeptical of grain faci
lities today, that such events
as the association's failure
harm all grain dealerships.
Both Wood and Godbold now
store their grain in facilities
they have installed on their
farms.
An operating loss of about
$400,000 was reported for
the Southeastern Associa
tion's fiscal year ending May
11, 1970. A shortage of
300,000 to 400,000 bushels of
grain was reported following
inspections of the grain
elevator by federal inspec
tors.
Inspectors found 34,147
bushels of grain valued at
$48,042.50 in the elevator,
according to records in the
clerk of court's office.
The February 1981 notice
to creditors stated $51,607.88
is now available for dis
tribution.
Gavin recommended
payment of $628.30 for
preparation of tax returns
with the remainder to be
divided among the
Internal Revenue Service,
the Commodity Credit Corp.
and Appalachian Insurance \
Co. The notice also stated the
receiver has filed an appli
cation for final receiver's
^pes if?fltln^r:57,5B^- ??
Applachian of Providence,
R.I. was the binding com
pany for Commodity Credit
which held warehouse re
ceipts of Southeastern
Farmers Grain totaling
$77,000. Branch Banking &
Trust Co. of Wilson reported
holding $314,354 worth of
warehouse tickets. The
tickets and receipts had been
issued by the co-op to far
mers who had left grain with
it for storage and later sale.
Many farmers used the
tickets as loan collateral or as
checks.
"Numerous hearings and
receiver's reports have
created a mountainous file of
%
papers in the Duplin clerk of
court's office as well as files
in the state Supreme Court,
state Court of Appeals and
U.S. District Court.
The physical property of
the co-op was ordered sold in
1972 by the Superior Court to
satisfy claims of Farmers
Home Administration,
Branch Banking & Trust Co.
and others.
Claims filed as of March
17, 1972 totaled $1,405,922
according to records of Joe
Cash of the state FmHA
office in Raleigh. His record
shows $770,021.99 was owed
by Southeastern Farmers
Grain to FmHA. $389,402.82
to Branch Banking & Trust,
$80,800.74 to farmers,
$155,958.08 to corporations
or individual grain dealers,
and $2,658.09 to suppliers.
He said FmHA had made
loans totaling $800,000 in
1966 and the bank $100,000
in 1968 to finance construc
tion of the grain facility in
1966 and an addition two
years later. The South
eastern Farmers Grain Asso
ciation was organized in 1965
and 1966 as a farmers co
operative to build a grain
elevator and operate as a
grain-dealing facility. The
FmHA and bank loans were
the only secured claims, he
noted. They were secured by
detffs of tr..st." ? k
At that time, FmHA
records showed the receivers
had $33,000 in assets other
than the physical property.
The court authorized leas
ing of the facility in 1970 for
two years with the proceeds
to go to the receiver. Nash
Johnson & Sons Farms of
Rose Hill won the lease
bidding at $64,000 a year.
After the court ordered sale
of the property in mid-1972,
the Johnson firm scbnu.tcd
the successful bid to pur
chase the elevator, which it
currently owns. As part of
the sale agreement, it agreed
to pay the secured loans of
FmHA and the bank.
I WARSAW'S > NEW 300,000-GALLON
WATER STORAGE TANK TAKING SHAPE
- The new tank is part of a SI .3 water
improvement project which is scheduled to
be completed in September of 1981. The
tank is located on the south side of town, also
on the site of one of the two new wells for the
iP *
TT"'-wSZm
4 '
system. When completed, Warsaw will have
three above-ground storage tanks with a
capacity ot 0/5,Ouu ganons. ana tive
pumping wells. The average daily water
billing is 265,000. Thus the town will have in
storage a three-day stipolv once the project
is completed. (Photo by Donna Lanier)
Sfc i
4-H BANQUET - Left to right. Cece Williams. Lois Britt. Arthur Hall,
Ralph Sasser. Laurie Swain, Mark Dearman, Wanda Costin and Ray
Rhinchart.
(Photo by Joiii Nethercutt)
Duplin County 4- H'ers Receive
Recognition During Annual Banquet
By Joni Nethercutt
"Duplin County is recog
nized for its agriculture, but
the most important crop
Duplin County grows is our
young 4-H'ers," stated
District Extension Chairman
Ralph Sasser at the annual
4-H recognition banquet
'..onday, Feb. 23 at The
Country Squire.
The 4-H recognition ban
quet is hosted by the Duplin
County Board of Commis
sioncrs to pay tribute to
those 4-H'ers for outstanding
achievement in projects,
activities and demonstra
tions.
Members of Duplin's 4-H
organization who received
special recognition included:
Laurie Swain and Arhtur Hall
-- Outstanding Junior
4-Hers, Wanda Costin and
Glenn Brinson ? Outstand
ing Senior 4-H'ers. Glenn
Brinson was also recognized
by the county and state for
having been inducted into
the North Carolina 4-H
Honor Club. Karen Kor
negay was recognized as a
National 4-H Conference
delegate. Gregg Swain was
recognized as a 4-H scholar
ship fund recipient.
Mark Dearman of N.C.
State University presented a
12-projector slide program.
Interesting Opportunities
Unlimited. The program had
been put together with the
help of 4-H club members.
After the presentation,
man recorded the Duplin
4-H'ers as they said the 4-H
pledge in unison. He hopes
to use their recorded pledge
on the program.
Ray Rhinehart. 4-H
extension agent of Duplin
County, said "All of Duplin
County's 4-H'ers arc
winners."
"All of you (4-H'ers) are
winners ? you became
winners when you became a
4-H member," C. C. Turner
of the Board of Commis
sioners concluded.
Miss Duplin County Saturday
March 7 In Kenansville
The Warsaw Jaycees will
sponsor the Miss Duplin
County Scholarship Pageant
on Saturday night, March 7
at 8 p.m. in Kenan Audi
torium in Kenansville. The
pageant is being held to
select Miss Duplin County
1981 who will represent the
county in the Miss North
Carolina Pageant in Raleigh
the last week in June.
The pageant theme. "A
Little Bit of Country," will
feature the talents of guest
performers Bridgette
Brayboy who is the reigning
Miss Lumbee; Lisa Swift, the
curent Miss North Carolina -
U.S.A.; and Shari Jones.
Miss Duplin County 1980.
Emcee for the pageant will
be the well-known enter
tainer Janet Hogan from
Norman. Janet is a former
talent winner in the Miss
North Carolina pageant and
performs at many pageants
and civic events across the
. state.
Seven contestants will vie
for the Miss Duplin County
crown. They are; Angela
Norman, Penny James. Alice
Ann Pate, Jerrianne lnscoe,
Sherry Rogers. Gina Powell,
Wendy Rivenbark and Julia
Spicer. The contestants
represent various parts of the
county. All will compete in
talent, gown, swimsuit and
interview phases required by
the Miss America Pageant.
Judges will include Mr.
and Mrs. A1 Gudger of
Asheville, Mr. and Mrs. Ed
Wallace from Denton, and
Mrs. Mary E. Strickland
from Southport. All of the
judges are on the list of
recommended pageant
judges provided by the Miss
North Carolina Pageant.
Sam Garner, business
manager for Miss Duplin
County and pageant-staging
chairman, recommends that
all former Miss Warsaws and
Miss Duplin Counties attend
the pageant and plan to be
introduced on stage during
the vening. Garner has sug
gcsteu that former queens
should identify themselves at
the door and admission will
be provided for them and
one guest.
"The Warsaw Jaycees
work all year on this project
and others, and it would be
really great if the folks of
Duplin County would come to
the pageant and support the
Jaycees and the new
queen."
Tickets will be available at
the door of the auditorium on
the evening of the pageant.
Wheels For Life
Bike-A-Thon In Kenansville
Phil Hardy and Mike Out
law. both of Kenansville,
have been appointed chair
persons for the annual
Wheels for Life" Bike-A
Thon in Kenansyille.
scheduled for April 4 with a
rain date of April 11. The
event will benefit St. Jude
Children's Research Hospi
tal.
St. Jude Hospital is de
voted to painstaking medical
research and treatment of
children stricken with catas
trophic diseases, including
leukemia. Hodgkins disease
and other forms of cancer.
The Memphis facility was
founded by Danny Thomas in
1962. It is non-sectarian,
interracial and completely
free of charge to patients
whose disease is under study
and who are referred by a
physician. The hospital pro
vides transportation and
lodging for the child and
parent.
St. Jude Children's Re
search Hospital is the largest
childhood cancer research
center in the world. Doctors
and scientists have been
brought together from all
over the world to conquer
death-dealing illnesses
striking children. The results
of this research are shared
with physicians and scien
tists worldwide so that chil
dren everywhere are helped
flby the hospital. Everyone
'can share in the optimism of
a growing "cure rate" for
cancer because of the work at
St. Jude.
The hospital receives as
sistance from federal grants
and is supported by volun
tary contributions raised
through such events as the
"Wheels for Life" Bike-A
Th'on. This year, healthy
children participating in the
event will wear a hospital
identification bracelet
bearing the name of a patient
at St. Jude Thus, they will
be tangibly riding for another
child. They will also be
helping children across the
country throughout the
world since the .noney raised
will benefit research
Health Center
Enters Old Building
The Greenevers Plainview
Rural Health Center
occupied its new quarters,
Jerry Teachey's "Old Store"
early in February.
Purchase of the land and
renovation of the building
cost $229,000. Prior to
moving, the center occupied
a mobile unit at the town
hall.
The health center was
organized in May 1977. The
first physician arrived in
1978. Dr. Ada Fisher spent
two years in the center under
auspices of the National
Health Corps. She left in July
1980. Her replacement is Dr.
Frank Fisher, a native of
Richlands.
Dr. Fisher plans to prac
tice in the community after
his term of government ser
vice ends, he said last week.
Patients are coming to the
center from a wide area of
central Duplin County, he
said.
In addition to the physi
cian, the clinic is staffed by
administrator Norman
Sandlin. laboratory techni
cian James Guyer. assistant
technician Jacqueline
Lisane. accounting clerk
Beverly Crossland. and sec
retary-receptionist Peggy
Carr.
The renovation included
resurfacing the outside walls
with brick and installing new
heating and air conditioning
equipment, electrical wiring
and plumbing. Interior parti
tions were re-arranged.
The building includes
3,230 squrc feet divided into
five examining rooms, labor
atory, trauma room, phar
macy room and dentist's
office, audio-visual room.
X-ray room, film developing
room, employees lounge,
?vailing room and office and
records rooms.
The health center is lo
cated on State Road 1102,
one mile east of N.C. 11 at
Charity Crossroads.
The center is open from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays,
Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to
1 p.m. Fridays. It is closed
weekends.
Dr. Fisher said the late
hours Thursdays are well
attended by patients who
find it difficult to take time
off from work or from school
to come to the clinic.
Center services are not
free, he emphasized. Fees
vary, based on ability of
patients t ?> pay. The center
works witn Medicaid and
Medicare as well as most
health insurance firms, he
added.