PROGRESS SENTINEL
"' "* I
VOL XXXXV NO. 30 USPS 182-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 JULY 29. 1982 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
A WEIGHING IT IN - A Duplin farmer weighs in his tobacco
Friday morning at the Blanchard-Farrior Warehouse in
Wallace. Area warehouses began filling late last week in
preparation for the first sale this past Tuesday. Last week
several Duplin tobacco growers were angry about the
3-cent per pound assessment now required through the
new tobacco bill, but said they realized something had to
be done to save the program. "Nobody likes it," said
Johnny Williams of Blanchard-Farrior, "but they know
they have to pay it in order to get the price support. More
than likely, they'll raise it another cent next year. The
farmer just can't stand too much on top of the high cost of
labor."
Most county agricultural authorities agree that this
year's crop looks goou in the fields, but is basically thin
and light in weight because of heavy rains. This in turn
could have a damaging effect on prices and early estimates
predict that-the government may end up with as much as
10 percent of the total yield. (Photo by Sharon Overton)
* Magnolia Board Decides To
Seek Federal Grant
An application for a
S7O0,000 community de
velopment block grant won
approval of the Magnolia
commissioners last week by a
^ 4-1 vote.
Commissioner Herbert
tion, saying he feared it
would involve the town fi
nancially and the town could
not afford any extra costs.
Voting for the application
were Commissioners Billy
Usher, Ruth Quinn, Rudolph
Becton and Hubert Howard.
About 20 town residents
attended the public hearing
? on the application. The appli
cation is being handled by
McDavid & Associates with
an office in Kenansville.
If approved, the grant
would be used to rehabilitate
40 houses on East Sandy and
Newberry streets and for
some water, sewer and
drainage improvements.
By a 4-1 vote the board
agreed to buy a copying
A.
machine for_ SI,375. Usher
voted against the purchase,
saying he thought the
present machine adequate
for the town's needs.
The board agreed to lease
the town garbage truck, part
time to Kenansville for two,
more weeks at S150 per
week. The Kenansville board
is deciding whether to get a
new truck to replace one that
broke down or to contract the
town's garbage disposal to a
private firm.
George Brogden of Mag
nolia agreed to remove dry
sludge from the drying tanks
at the town sewage treat
ment plant for $25 a truck
load. The work is done about
three times a year.
Fred Archer was re
appointed to the Duplin
County airport board by a 4-1
vote with Usher opposing.
Usher said he was not
against Archer's appoint
ment but wanted a question
of his attendance atvh?
airport board meetings
cleared up. The town board
had received a letter from
County Manager Ralph
Cottle saying Archer had
attended only one of the
airport board's four meetings
last year.
Prior to the meeting
Archer had told town board
members he had missed only
two meetings of the airport
board that he knew of, in the
three years of his term.
In other action the board:
? Was advised that no
reply had been received from
?its July 9 letter to Univision
Cable Co. The board had
written the company for a
progress report as it had
heard nothing from the com
pany since signing a cable
franchise with it last winter.
The letter also reminded the
company it was to pay at
torney fees connected with
the franchise.
? Reduced the water di'
oi-Biit PwUturst, win ^ves *
beside the ball park, from
$18 to $10. Parkhurst pro
tested that someone who
came to his house from the
park for water had left the
spigot on allowing a large
quantity of water to be
wasted.
? Agreed to provide as
surance that it will provide
water and sewer service to a
projected five duplex unit
housing project planned by
Tyndal Lewis on Peterson
and Pickett streets. Woody
Brinson. engineer repre
senting Lewis who is apply
ing for a Farmers Home
Administration loan to build
the units, said the assurance
was needed in the loan
application. He estimated
construction would cost
$150,000. The project would
be fully taxable and would
add water and sewer fees.
The units will rent for about
$180 a month.
JSTC Plans Hike In Fees
Student activity fees will
be increased this fall at
James Sprunt Technical Col
lege in Kenansvilie to meet
student demand for addi
tional activities.
The increases, unani
mously approved by the
p board of trustees last Thurs
day night, are expected to
bring in $2,000 and increase
activities funds to $13,000 a
year, according to Cynthia
Dail, activities director.
Starting in the fall quarter,
the fee for full-time students
will be $27 for the full
academic year, an increase of
$"7. Part-time students taking
up to 6 quarter hours of
credit will pay $4, an in
crease of SI or $2 per
quarter.
Students taking seven to
11 quarter hours will pay $6
per quarter, up $1. Part
time students taking 12 or
more quarter hours will pay
$8 per quarter, up $2. Sum
mer quarter students will pay
$4.
In other business, the
board let a $49,000 contract
to Jackson Builders of
Goldsboro for a metal pre
fabricated storage building.
The bid was the lowest
among five received by the
board.
Jimmy Strickland was re
elected chairman of the
board and Willard Hoffler
vice chairman for the next
Liberty Hall Gets New Curator
Liberty Hall, the ances
toral home of the Kenan
family in Kenansville, has a
new curator for only the third
time since it opened its doors '
in 1968.
Pattie Loftin, a Duplin
County native who has just
recently returned to the
area, was hired as co-curator
on July 1. She shares her
duties with Mattie Barbee,
one of the original curators
for the museum,
k Miss Loftin previously
a1 worked for the State Em
ployees' Retirement System
in Raleigh. She said she took
the job at Liberty Hall be
cause of her interest in
Kenansville, her knowledge
of the people here and her
love of history. Miss Loftin
replaces Carolyn Outlaw,
who has retired after 13
years with the museum.
According to Mrs. Barbee,
I a Liberty Hall curator should
'' be someone who "enjoys
contact with the public and1'
appreciates old furniture."
The two curators alternate
working two-week shifts and
oversee a staff of two CETA
workers, a housekeeper and
a groundsman. They are also
responsible for showing the
home to visitors and provid
ing an overview of the Kenan
family history.
A part of the Liberty Tour,
the house is open from 10
a.m. until 4 p.m. every day
of the year except Mondays
and Christmas Day. During
the summer months, the
museum may draw as many
as $0 guests in one day. Last
year alone, 6,891 visitors
toured the 142-year-old
homeplace.
No one has actually lived
in the Kenan house since
1910, shortly after the death
of Annie Kenan. Until 1963,
the structure was barricaded
by a high wire fence and
used as a storehouse for
Owen Kenan's art collection.
Left unattended, the beauti
ful two-story home began to
decay.
Following Owen Kenan's
death in 1963, Frank Kenan
of Durham purchased the
estate and deeded it to
Duplin County to be used as
a museum. With the house,
he also gave 16 acres of land
including the area now
known as Kenansville Muni
cipal Park.
Restoration work on
Liberty Hall took three years
to complete. The original
beds had been left in the ^
b^use, but other Kenan fur
nishings were donated by
relatives all over the country
and returned to Kenansville.
On June 10. 1968, Liberty
Hall admitted jts first
visitors and has since drawn
crowds curious to see one of
the nation's finest historical
collections.
year. Both have held their
offices since 1965. Strickland
owns Farmers Hardware Co.
in Warsaw and Hoffler is a
retired heavy equipment firm
owner.
Perry Alonzo Sharpe. 20,
was sworn in as Student
Government Association
president. As student presi
dent, he is a member of the
board without voting autho
rity.
Sharpe is enrolled in the
advanced auto mechanics
course at JSTC and has
completed the heavy duty
diesel motor course.
He was born in New
Hanover County and grew up
in Riegelwood. He is one of
seven children.
The board designated
several department heads'
staff members as vice presi
dents, at no pay increase..
Among these are: Alfred
Wells, student affairs: Dr.
Gene Ballard, academic af
fairs; and Robert A. Lee,
fiscal affairs.
Donna Thigpen was desig
nated vice president in
charge of administrative af
fairs. She was assigned ad
ditional duties apd received a
pay increase of $1,100 as a
result. She will take over the
media duties formerly car
ried out by Bill Warren, who
resigned because of ill
health.
Nelson Best will receive a
pay increase of $1,000 a year
for taking over the photo
graphic duties formerly per
formed by Warren.
Duplin Fair To Unite
No. 1 Agricultural County
By Sharon Overton
Staff Writer
It's not often that county
commissioners sit down to
gether for a friendly corn
shucking contest.
And it's not too often that
the town of Rose Hill lets
somebody borrow its frying
pan.
But then again, it's even
less often that the proud folk
of Duplin County decide to
join forces to put on a fair.
As a matter of fact, No
vember, 1860 was the last
time they really tried it. But
since December of last year,
a committee sponsored by
the Duplin Agribusiness
Council has been hard at
work planning the 1982
Duplin County Agricultural
Fair. The event is to be held
the week of October 4-9 in
Kenansville.
Fair coordinator and Agri
business president Roy
Houston explained the
reasoning behind the fair.
'' Duplin is the number one
county in agriculture in this
state and one of the top fifty
in the nation. Unfortunately,
our citizens don't spend their
agriculture dollars here. Tax
rates in the surrounding
counties are less than ours
because they benefit from
those dollars. That's where
the county fair comes in. We
want to unite the county
behind a common cause ?
promoting business and
agriculture at home."
Over fifty volunteer repre
senting all areas of the
county have come together
to work towards the October
deadline. The group has ob
tained permission from the
Duplin County School
system to use the area
around the old Kenansville
Elementary School, Kenan
Memorial Auditorium and
William H. Kenan Amphi
theatre on Highway II for
the fairgrounds. Houston
claims the area is tailor
made for an agricultural fair.
Visitors will enter through
gates in front of the audi
torium. Just inside the
fence, they will pass the
Rose Hill Jaycees a.id the
sizzling sounds of southern
chicken frying all day Satur
day in the World's Largest
Frying Pan.
Twenty-two commercial
exhibits will be on display
the entire week inside the
auditorium. Agricultural and
industrial firms may rent a
booth for S50 and $65. Area
schools, FFA chapters,
scouts and 4-H groups will
man 16 educational booths
also located in the audi
torium.
Outside, merry-go-round
music and carnival barkers
signal that visitors are en
tering the midway. The fair
has contracted D&N Amuse
ments to provide rides,
games, cotton candy and
candied apples. For the less
adventurous, livestock and
farm equipment exhibits will
be erected on the grass
behind the school and in
front of the auditorium.
All during the week, spe
cial entertainment events
have bt cn planned which
spotlignt Duplin County
talent. Cloggers will pound
the boards of the Kenan
amphitheatre, men will
scatter as their wives enter
the H'-isband Callin' Contest
and 1' il artists, actot. and
musicians will be on hand to
perform their craft.
Finally, no fair would be
complete without the " Best"
categories. . .best pjckled
cucumbers, best pound cake,
best yeast bread, best peach
preserves, best sewing, best
embroidering and best quilt
ing. And to show who's best,
the Ocracoke Quilters will
travel a" the way from Hyde
Counrv, to display their
wares
Thc& was a three-way tie
for the quilting contest in
October, 1954. (Of course,
two of the women were
related to the judge.) The
Duplin County Agricultural
Fair that first year had 20
other events and was located
around the courthouse and
the First Baptist Church.
The gathering was held an
nually. doubling in size for
the next six years until it was
interrupted by the Civil War.
Duplin County didn't have
another fair until 1962 when
George Cowan, founder of
the Cowan Museum in
Kenansville, started one in
Bculaville. The Beulaville
fair featured 65 booths and
continued until 1965 ? hen it
was abandoned for tck of
interest.
Houston fears thi- year's
fair will end the sar way if
people associate t with
Kenansville only.
"The fair in Beulaville
died from being ju e Beu
laville effort. If peopie think
this is a Kenansville fair, it
will die too," said Houston.
"V e're trying to use the fair
as * means of uniting the
entire county. As citizens of
Duplin, we've got to work
together. If we keep taking
for granted the fact that
we're number one, someday
soon we won't be."
Duplin Seeking Grant
For Loans To Industries
The Duplin County Board
of Commissioners approved
an application for a $750,000
Economic Development Ad
ministration grant last week.
If the county receives the
grant, the money would be
used to loan new or ex
panding industry in the
county.
John Gurganus, county in
dustrial development agent,
said present plans call for the
grant to aid Southern Cold
Storage of Federalsburg,
Md., to build a cold storage
facility near the Swift & Co.
turkey processing plant at
Wallace.
The firm has plans for a
75,000-square-foot facility
and is in the process of
obtaining a $4.2 million fi
nancial package for the pro
ject. Gurganus told the
board, "Without the EDA
grant the thing just won't
fly."
Gurganus said the facility
would employ 12 to 15
people, but its facilities
would enable Swift & Co. to
increase its turkey produc
tion at Wallace and thus
increase employment.
Gurganus said Swift now
sends turkeys to Sumter,
S.C. for storage.
A third and final public
hearing on the question was
to be held this week in the
commissioners' room of the
courthouse.
The board approved a $400
per month fee for the Duplin
Sampson Area Mental
Health and Mental Retarda
tion Services to use the
county's computer.
The board tabled the re
quest of Debra Beasley of the
county health department
and Jeanne Palmer, a state
health education consultant,
to sponsor purchase of 15
infant car seat restraints at a
cost of $22 each. The state
would match the number,
but they said the state can
only deal with counties in
such matching programs.
The restraints would be
loaned to county residents
for small deposits. State law
requires children to be re
strained when riding in cars.
Dr. Alice Scott, an assis
tant county superintendent,
and Cecil Beaman. principal
of Wallace Elementary,
asked for $1,670 for the
direction sports program.
The program is used in
working with certain problem
students. The board ap
proved $835. They said they
needed a total of $6,909 to
send 12 students who had
done well the past year and
five adults to a national
program in California. The
group will leave July 31.
The board upgraded the
pay rate of Julia Hinson,
deputy register of deeds, and
Joyce Williams, a clerk in
that office, from SI 1,213 to
$11,698 per year. The pay of
Gladys Carroll, also em
ployed in the register of
deeds office, was increased
from $9,110 to $9,488 per
year. The vote was 4-1 with
Commissioner W.J. Costin
voting no, saying he did not
think pay should be raised in
only oifc department.
The board accepted the bid
of Massey Motor Co. of
Kinston for a Toyota pick
up truck.. The bid was
$6,756.09, the lowest of two
bids. Brewer Motor Co. of
Wallace bid $6,994.50.
Brewer was awarded the
contract for a 15-passenger
van on a bid of $13,999.50.
The van will be used to
transport kidney patients for
dialyses treatment.
Duplin Ok's More
. .. .
Funds For Dental Program
Success of a 7-year-old
"swish" program, as out
lined by health department
workers, prompted the
Duplin County Board of
Commissioners this past
week to increase its support
to meet increasing costs.
It is called the "swish"
program because Duplin
County grade students spend
one minute a week rinsing
their mouths with a flouride
mouth rinse.
The board increased its
annual support from SI,500
to $2,500 at the request of
Grace Newton, dental spe
cialist under the county
health department.
She said "swishing" has
reduced the incidence of
dental cavities 44 percent
compared with the rates
before it began. Duplin was
one of the pilot counties for
the program in North Caro
lina in the 1974-75 school
^ear.
The program was applied
in kindergarten through sixth
grade in 11 schools of the
county. Dentists checked the
teeth of 4,617 students and
referred 2,559 for dental
treatment.
During the 1979-80 school
year dentists checked 5,399
students in kindergarten
through eighth grades and
referred 1,302 for dental
treatment.
In the 1974-75 school year
590 students were checked in
the Beulaville school and 337 <
referred for dental treat
ment. In the 1979-80 school
year 776 Beulaville students
were checked and 161 re
ferred for treatment.
Dr. Richard F. Murphy,
regional dental supervisor
for the state Department of
Human Resources, said 85 of
the state's 100 counties have
some kind of program. "I
don't mean to say that all 85
are like Duplin County, but
they have some part of a
program now."
During the school year the
students get a 3-ounce paper
cup filled with mouthwash to
swish in their mouths for one
minute. They must refrain
from food or drink for half an
hour after each treatment.
Duplin County provides
cups and napkins. At present
about 5,000 cups and napkins
are required for each week of
1 the school year. The board of
education provides an addi
tional II .000 a year for other i
supplies.
Magnolia is the only
Duplin County town flouri- i
dating its water, according to I
Ms. Newton. I
In other action, the board I
appointed Lonnie Andrews to t
replace Bobby Miller, and
re-appointed James Dewey
Lanier, all of the Beulaville
area, to one-year terms on
the planning board arid re
appointed Robert Franklin
Sloan of the Beulaville area
to the airport board.
The toard also ddlayed
action on sale of a SO by
100-foot residential lot.
pending report of a study of
its valie by Commissioner
W.J. Costin of Warsaw. Th?
county took over the lot,
formerly owned by Delia
Carlton and heirs, for back
taxes. The lot was appraised
for $1,780. The board re
ceived three bids for the*
property, the highest being.
$475 from Mary M. Morrisey
of Manassas, Vs. County
taxes of $323.23 are owed on
the property. The county also
tias spent $100 in advertising
the property.