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PROGRESS SENTINEL
^ VOl.. XXXXVNO. n USPS 162 860 KENANSVILLENC 28349 March 12. 1981 16 PAGES THIS wIeK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Students To Get
Drug Warnings
w
The Duplin County Board
of Education has ordered a
statement to be read in junior
and senior high schools
warning students of possible
penalties for drug abuse,
after which the students
must sign a statement that
they understand the penal
ties.
Following the board's
h decision last Tuesday night.
? Superintendent C. H. Yel
verton said. "We have no
more or less problem than in
the past, but everybody
needs to know where they
stand. It's just re-empha
sizing our policy. The stu
dent signature thing is new
and had to be approved by
the board before it could be
put in force."
The statement warns stu
dents that anyone suspected
of using, possessing or sell
ing illegal drugs will be
questioned and searched, if
any illegal drug is found, the
statement says, the student
will be suspended or ex
pelled. The sheriffs depart
mcnt may be notified and the
case turned over to the
courts. Parents also will be
notified.
Handbooks, describing il
legal drug use and how to
detect symptoms of drug
use. have been issued to
teachers.
On other matters,
Yelverton told the board
meeting the administrative
staff will present its pro
posed 1981-82 budget Tues
day.
The school system has
been using Comprehensive
Employment and Training
Act (CETA) funds to train
clerical and secretarial work
ers to meet the require
ments of the Southern Asso
ciation of Schools for accredi
tation. Assistant Superinten
dent Gary Sanderson said the
CETA program has been
frozen and might be eli
minated. It means a loss of
$30.(XX) to the system for this &
fiscal year. Sanderson said.
? Commissioners Award
Water Contract
Accepting the low bid of
$96,278.60. the Board of
Commissioners let a contract
at their meeting last week to
A Ramey Inc. of Clemmons for
" a five-mile extension of the
county water system.
Twenty-three bids were
submitted for the project,
which will add Five miles of
lines and 33 possible cus
tomers to the system that
extends from Kcnansvitye to
.grc^ueyers. The system
presently serves 110 cus
tomers. 5
^ The original 18 miles iff
P water line cost $384,000. The
original system and the
addition arc being financed
through grants from the
federal Department of Hous
ing and Urban Development.
Construction of the addi
tion will begin late this
month.
In other business. Blue
Cross Insurance premiums
will increase by 33.1 percent
^starting in April. Ralph
^Cottle, county manager, in
formed the board. He said
company officials told him
that during 1980. 94.9 per
cent of the premiums re
ceived for county employees
were paid out in benefits.
The increase will be from
$27.69 to $36.84 per month
for each employee insured.
The family plan will increase
^from $76.07 to $101.73 per
"month. The county pays $24
of the employee's rate.
Cottle told the board Blue
Cross officials informed him
one of the reasons for the
high payor.: in relation to
premiums is that many em
ployees do not go for treat
ment to Duplin General Hos
pital, where room rates are in
the $70 a day range, but to
New Hanover County and
Chapel Hill hospitals, where
rates are in the $100 range.
The old rate was based, on
the low hospital room rate in
the Duplin hospital.
Th#' board appropriated
$62,000 for additional
remodeling of the former
General Hospital nurses
home known as the "South
Wing."
Renovation of the first
floor of the structure for use
as doctors' offices will be
partially financed by $60,000
from federal revenue-sharing
funds. The other $2,000 will
come from a state grant for
work on the second floor of
the building which will be
used for health department
administrative offices. The
board previously had appro
priated $5,000 for this pur
pose.
In other action, the board:
? approved a motion to
name the collection of 18th.
19th and early 20th century
farm and home tools and
equipment given the county
by George Cowan of Cedar
Fork, the "Cowan Museum
in Memory of Joanne Cowan
Brown Mrs. Brown,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Cowan, was killed by an
automobile several years
ago.
? Leased a portion of an
E.E. Smith school building in
Kcnansville to the State
Highway Patrol for $250 per
month. The fee includes
heat, electricity and janitorial
service.
? Approved an ordinance
barring cable television/ser
vice in rurstl areas or the
county by any company that
does not First obtain a fran
chise from the county.
? Authorized the airport
commission to pay up to
$1,500 for a study to de
termine need for expansion
of the airport runwav from
3.700 feet to 5,000 feet. The
county owns sufficient land,
at the airport site to lengthen
the runway if the study
shows the project to be
Financially feasible. Benny
Wilson, airport commission
chairman, reported 185
flights to and from the
airport in January. Wilson
said the airport is selling
about 4,500 gallons of
aviation fuel a month.
? Appointed Tom Rabon
of Warsaw to the county
mental health board to re
place the late T.J. Baker of
Wallace.
Kenansville Board
Alters Parking Rules
w
The Kenansville Board of
Commissioners changed
parking regulations last week
to counter a hazardous situ
ation at the corner of Cooper
Street and N.C. 11-24 beside
Graham House Inn.
The board also heard a
complaint about the lack of
^late-night police protection.
9 The commissioners
banned parking within 25
feet of the street corner at
the intersection of Cooper
and N.C. 11-24 because
board members said parking
nearer the corner had
created congestion. The
board declared a space of 20
feet on each side of a fire
hydrant beside N.C. 11-24,
across from the inn, out of
abounds for parking and
"ordered the space marked by
yellow lines.
The lack oi money pre
vents the town from main
taining 24-hour police nro
tection. the board was told.
Responding to the com
plaint of Jimmy Jackson,
owner of Jackson's IGa an
N.C. 11-24, about no officer
on duty when the store's
^burglar alarm sounded at 4
"a.m. one day the wect
before. Mayor Doug Judge
said, "We are aware our
police protection is inade
quate."
Jackson said three hours
had elapsed between a call to
police and response at
another time. He told the
board his parked pick-up
truck was struck by a car at
7:15 a.m., and although he
said he called police imme
diately. no officer contacted
him until 10 a.m.
"lt'd take five policemen
to give us 24-hour protection
and as small as we are, we
jujst can't afford it," Com
missioner Earl Hatcher com
mented.
The town, with a popu
lation under 1,000, has two
police officers.
The board voted to return
to the government a $79,000
grant to restore the historic
Pearsall House. The house
was destroyed by fire before
restoration work could be
started. The property will
revert to Mrs. J.E. Quinn, its
former owner.
Town Attorney W. E. Craft
was directed to ask Rep.
Doug Clark to prepare a local
bill authorizing Kenansville
to charge up to $5 for town
license tags. The town has
been charging $1 and plans
to increase the fee to $2. The
board decided to ask for the
$5 authorization in case
future fee increases become
necessary.
It also ordered town police
to enforce the ordinance re
quiring town residents to
purchase tags. The board has
not made it mandatory for
car owners to display the
tags.
Larry Hoffman, town
maintenance supervisor, was
directed to notify property
owners to remove junked
vehicles from their premises.
Hoffman reported 29 such
vehicles were found on lots in
the town.
The board also agreed to
reduce the most recent water
bill of the United Methodist
Church from $79 to the mini
mum of $12. The high bill
resulted from water pipes
breaking in freezing weather
in January and February.
ALBERTSON SOFTBALL
The Albertson Recreation
Center is beginning the
spring Softball leagues for
women and men. If inter
ested, call Tom Turner at
568-3982 or 568-7787 (day
time) before April 25th.
I
Julia *picer Wins Miss Duplin County
MISS DUPLIN COUNTY i981 * Julia A. Spicer of Kenansville was
crowned Miss Duplin County 1981 Satarday night at Kenan Memorial
Auditorium. Pictured are: Shari Jones, Miss Duplin County 1980; Wendy
STOKY ON PAGE 3
Rivcnbark. Miss Congeniality: Miss Spicer: Alice Anne Pate. first
runner-up: and Gina Powell, second runner-up.
(Photo b) Joni Nethcrcutt)
12 Bids Offered On
Kenansville Water System
ine apparent low bid tor
improvements to the water
distribution system in
Kenansville was $294,960,
submitted by T.A. Loving
Co. of Goldsboro.
Twelve bids submitted for
the contract were opened by
Charles Joyner of the en
gineering firm of McDavid
Associates of Goldsboro at
the town hall Thursday. The
engineering firm will review
the bids and make recom
mendations to the town
board of commissioners at its
April 6 meeting.
Bids also were opened for
two other related projects, a
250.000-gallon elevated
water storage tank and a 250
gallons-per-minute well.
Low bid on the water tank
was $254,065 by Taylor Iron
Works & Supply Co. of
Macon. Ga. Four bids were
entered for the work.
Four bids were entered for
the well project with the low
bid of $96,008 entered by
East Coast Construction Co.
of Jacksonville.
The project will be fi
nanced by $170,000 from a
town bond issue approved in
December 1979 and $599,000
in grants.
Kcnansville now has a
150.000 - gallon water tank.
It also has two wells, one
pumping 300 gallons per
minute and the other, 125
gallons per minute.
Distribution system im
provements will replace
leaking downtown lines.
Most of the pipes were
installed 40 years ago.
The system will be ex
tended about one mile north
along N.C. II and about the
same distance south on N.C.
11 to the N.C. Department of
Transportation facility.
Another estension will run
about half a mile along N.C.
14 east toward Beulaville.
About 30,000 feet of pipe
line and 35 fire hydrants will
be installed.
The seeond lowest bidder
for the distribution system
was $307,144 from Cumber
land Paving Co. of Fayette
ville. Third lowest bid of
$314,763 was submitted by R
<Sc B Contract Associates of
Princeton.
Second lowest water tank
bid was $273,745 from Brown
Steel Contractors of
Newman. Ga. Third lowest
bid was $278,914 from Uni
versal Tank ? Iron Works of
Atlanta. Ga.
Second low bid on the well
was $99,850 from Register
Well Co. of Rose Hill. Third
lowest bid was $106,200 from
Sopar Utilities of Jackson
ville.
Williams Died In House Fire
The man who died in a
house fire in Warsaw last
Wednesday night was
identified Thursday as
Thomas Williams, 51, ac
cording to Warsaw Fire Chief
Frank Steed.
The fire destroyed the
house at 113 West Best
Street in which Williams
lived.
Steed said the house was
filled with flame and smoke
when the fire department
arrived. The flames were
quelled in about five min
utes. The body of Williams
was found in the kitchen with
his head sticking through a
broken window pane.
Williams was about four feet
from the outside kitchen
door.
The fire chief said he
believed the fire started in a
faulty chimney. The frame
house contained six rooms.
It was the second fatal fire
in Warsaw in 30 days. Deems
Wiggs died of smoke inhala
tion in the earlier fire which
ravaged his apartment.
There have only been
about five fire-related deaths
in Warsaw in the past 10
years. Steed said.
Officers Absolved
Former Magnolia Police
Officer Virgil Malpass and
Duplin Deputy E.G. Baker
were found not guilty of
violating the civil rights of
George Reynolds Evans Sr.
of Wilmington by Magistrate
Charles K. McCotter in U.S.
Fourth District court in
Raleigh Friday.
Evans, who is currently
serving a prison sentence
after being convicted on a
_r ? * ?
,cuatgc vi armea roooery in
New Hanover County
Superior Court in 1977,
claimed his civil rights were
violated at the time of his
arrest and asked that the
conviction be overturned.
Evans gave notice of
appeal to the Fourth Circuit
Court at Richmond, Va.
He was arrested near
Magnolia in April 1977 on
suspicion of auto larceny and
armed robbery by Malpass.
who had been alerted bv the
state highway- patrol. He
called for help from the
Duplin sheriff's department.
The conviction . for armed
robbery stood up through
appeals, according to evi
dence presented the magis
trate.
E. C. Thompson III. Mag
nolia lawyer, represented
Malpass. and Rusty Lanier,
the county lawyer,
represented Baker, a deputy
sheriff.
Justice Sticks To Old
Methods With Horse
And Human Power
??*. ..
Willard Justice farms with
horse-power and believes he
puts more money in his
pocketbook at the end of the
year than many with larger
farms who have rejected
animal power for machinery.
Although Justice uses
tractors for some things, he
depends mostly on his team
of horses to attend to his
cucumbers, sweet potatoes
and six acres of tobacco.
This week he was plowing,
walking behind a two-horse
plow in a manner known well
to generations of farmers.
"Some people want to go
out in the woods and chase
coon and get all muddy and
wet and that's good for
them." Justice said. "I
don't. I like to get behind a
pair of mules or horses and
plow. It's work for me to ride
a tractor. I've bought a dozen
and worn them all out."
An abundance of livestock
gives Justice's farm an "old
timey" look. Chickens, goats
and guinea fowl wander
about the yard while hogs
grunt and squeal in their
pen. Justice also keep? wo
cows for milk and some
calves for beef. ,
Justice's son. Allen, also
farms with his father on the
71 acres of cropland. Another
son, Shelton, lives nearby
and teaches in Kenansville.
Both live in relatively new
brick homes. Their father
lives in the frame farm house
built many years ago.
"This farm put both boys
through college," Justice
said. "And 1 paid for it with
cash."
Justice said the farm pro
vides most of the food for his
and his sons' families. "At
the end of the year, we killed
13 hogs, cut them up and put
the meat in freezers. We take
two head of beef to the locker
and have them Cut up. I'm
not a cow butcher. I took up
31 eggs yesterday." Justice
noted.
The chickens look the part
of the traditional farm flock
of varied colors and species,
not the uniform white of
commercial flocks.
"A lot of boys who lost
their farms would still have
them if thev'd've kept a pair
of mules." Justice said.
"Lots of farmers started
out small, like me. but
started adding equipment
and cost, and when they hit
hard times, they couldn't
hold out." he said.
Justice began farming
with his father, who had 100
acres and six horses or
mules. He bought his
present farm 30 years ago. "I
started farming here with a
pair of red (sorrel) mules
with white manes. They were
pretty, too," he said.
"I own what I have. 1 don't
owe anyone. I believe when
the year's over, I end up with
more clear money in my
pocketbook than most
farmers."
Bloodmobile In Faison
March 23
The American Red Cross
Bloodmobile will be in Faison
at the Fire and Rescue
Building on Monday, March
23 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Sprunt Hall Jr. says, "As
you know, the entire process
of donating blood takes about
one hour, the blood itself is
indeed needed by very many.
One donation can go to help
as many ??? four people. *
Won't you give of your time
and share your good fortune
of health with someone in
need? In order to reach our
goal of 100 pints, we need
your help. Did you know that
less than 5% of the popu
lation gives 100% of the
blood? How does this seem
fair? Please come and help to
raa'x '.his our mc t success
ful visit ever."
$