Newspapers / The Duplin Times (Warsaw, … / Aug. 12, 1982, edition 1 / Page 1
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. PROGRESS SENTINEL 1 VOL. XXXXVI NO. 32 USPS 162 860 KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 AUGUST 12, 1982 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX Duplin Schools Open Aug. 25 The Duplin County school system expects about 8,500 students this year, about the same as for the 1981 -82 year, according to Dr. Alice Scott, assistant superintendent in charge of personnel. Classes will begin Aug. 25. Teachers will report Aug. 17. Cudent orientation day will : Aug. 23. Graduation now is scheduled for June 3. The system will operate on a 1982-83 fiscal year budget of $17,845,405, of which $1,912,010 will come from county tax funds and $485,846 from fines, forfeit ures and other fees collected by the county. The system lost three state and seven federally funded teaching positions because of fund cutbacks, Ms. Scott said. The system will start the year with 525 teachers. Last year. 8,514 children enrolled in the county's schools. Average daily at tendance was 8,100. The 1980-82 enrollmen totaled 8,634. Ms. Scott expects future enrollment to stabilize at about the present level. However, the expected kin dergarten enrollment this year of slightly more than 500 students will be about 70 less than last year's 570. Kindergarten enrollment in the 1980-81 school year was 581. Although limited in funds, the high schools business departments will offer a new course in computer opera tions along with the conven tional typing, shorthand and bookkeeping courses. Allen Wood, transporta tion supervisor, said 138 buses will operate on the school routes. Last year the buses traveled 1,236.187 miles, transporting about 6.900 students and using about 1.500 gallons of gaso line a day. He reported 10 school bus accidents last year. No in juries were reported. Three bus drivers were faulted in the accidents. Drivers of other vehicles were faulted in the other seven. Beulaville Board Argues JEffectiveness Of Unmarked Cars By Sharon Overton Staff Writer ^ftguments concerning the 1 efftfctiveness of unmarked 1 car# in town police work followed a vote by the Beula ville Town Board last week Monday nigltf to purchase a new police velltcle. Police Chief Aubrey Murphy had requested that fbe town also buy a blue light 1 fdf one of its three police 1 cats, leaving two marked and 1 ope unmarked. ^ ' C.otftw.issioner Elvi<s 1 iV'itiic, arg'hed against ihe. ?i. 'of unmarked police ve hicles (those without flashing I lights or stickers), saying ^iat citizens had complained to him that the car might then be used for illegal purposes. 1 Murphy replied that un- 1 marked cars were used only 1 for police work and served 1 'he same function as a ' marked vehicle. 1 When asked why the de partment needed both types. Murphy said that the un ttparked car had "certain ad vantages." I He then went on to add. "If you don't trust the law enforcement people you have, maybe it's time to get rid of them and get some new Mies." The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the blue light and keep one unmarked car. According to Mayor Wilbur Hussey, town policy ip recent years has been to rWilace one car annually so th\ the department will be apdrating only three-year-old vehicles. Beulaville police men are now driving one WJ8 and two 1980 models,. Mutqiliy stated ^hat this practice has all but elimi nated maintence expenses, with costs dropping from 14,000 per year to $400. Murphy also recommend ed that the town buy only Full-size vehicles. He stated that the difference in opera ting costs over a mid-size is minimal; however; the quality of the ride is far superior. In further business Woody Brinson. who is handling Beulaville's block grant ap plication. reported that the Farmer's Home Administra tion has purchased all of the town's bonds for funding the new sewage treatment plant. The sale of the bonds, which amount to $625,000, will be finalized on August 25. Under an agreement with the FmHA, the town is allowed to hold up to two years' interest on the bonds. They can then invest the money at the current market interest rate whije owing the FmHA only the 5'percent. Brinson also submitted bills from East Coast Con struction, Boney & Assoc., and McDavid & Assoc., firm#' involved ih the cwr St ruction of the water and sewer system. The board ap proved payment of McDavid & Assoc. for $12,026, Boney for almost $12,000 and East Coast for $36,629.99. Concerned over Boney's definition of "substantial comple an" of the project, the commissioners decided to hold payment on his firm's bill for inspection during the liquidated damages period. Th^bill totaled $1,932. The board will discuss next month plans to begin charg ing Beulaville schools and the National Spinning plant for water and sewer services according to their usage. The town has been charging both a flat rate based on an estimate of the number of students or employees using the facility. According to one official. National Spinning now employs four times as many workers as was ori ginally estimated. Kenansville Replaces Burned Garbage Truck The Kenansville Town Board obtained a garbage truck under a lease-purchase agreement last week to re place one destroyed by fire earlier this year. The board also agreed to ask state Sen. Harold Hardi _son for assistance in settling Ph $17,000 payment demand, received Monday, from the state department of trans portation. The statement was based on a March 7, 1977, agree ment under which the town was to pay 30 percent of the cost to widen, curb, gutter and pave on Seminary Street near the Duplin County courthouse. No bill was re ceived until early this year, "according to board members. That statement s.iid the bill was for inspections. The board has received no answer from its queries to the state about the matter. The bill received Monday read, . .tor cost incurred for storki drainage improve- ? mentson Seminary Street." The DOT demanded the _ town pay the bill by Aug. 1 or P the state would take the money out of the town's Powell Bill allocation for street work. The town ex pects to receive about $19,000 in the Powell Bill allocation this year. No action was taken on the ouestioi. pending a response from Hardison, the district's senator. The garbage truck is an *I8-cuWc yard side loader. It is a i ?82 Ford F-600 demon strator obtained from Trux more of Richmond, Va. for $29,500 plus interest. Under the lease-'purchase agreement with United Carolina Leasing Corp. the town paid $7,484.62 in ad vance. It will make four annual payments of $7,564.62. The equipment was put into use after the Truxmore company agreed to allow the town to try out vehicle before firming up an agree ment. Recently. Kenansville has been renting Magnolia's garbage truck at $150 a week. Grady-Hall Associates picked up garbage for four weeks while attempting to negotiate contracts for gar bage pick-up with county towns. Other county towns rejected the commercial firm's offer. James Newkirk was ap pointed to the town Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) by a 3-1 vote. Com missioners Betty Long, Earl Hatcher and Jimmy Johnson voted for the appointment. Commissioner Ronnie Bostic voted against it. His motion to appoint James Farrior failed for lack of a second motion. Newkirk is the first black to sit on the board. He replaces Don Suttles. who was appointed mayor to suc ceed the late Carolyn Hall as mayor until December 1985. Newkirk's term expires in December. Long made the appointment motion which was seconded by Hatcher. The board received word health and accident insur ance premiums for the seven town employees will i?ereas? 82 percent Sept. 1 ? from $27 to $4b.90 per employee. When it adopted the current budget the board decided if the insurance premium in creased by more than 20 percent, the employees would have to pay the dif ference between that figure and the actual increase. The city has paid the entire premium for an employee in the past. Durham Life In surance Co. is the carrier. The policies have been pur chased through the Ameri can Institute of Management Services. The board agreed to fund a laborer's position at S3.35 per hour to replace a Com prehensive Employment and Training Act position lost in fund cutbacks. Because the Labor Day holiday coincides with their regular meetings on the first Monday of the month, the next board meeting is sche duled for 7:30 n.m. Spot. 13. Duplin To Keep Same Meal Fees The Duplin County Board of Education last week voted to keep school breakfast and lunch prices at "last year's level. Shelby Kilpatrick, food services supervisor, recom mended the action. Prices for lunch will be 70 cents for elementary students, 75 cents for high school stu dents, 40 cents for those eligible for reduced rates and ' $1.20 for adults. Breakfast prices will be 45 cents for students, 30 cents for those eligible for the reduced rate and 65 cents for adults. The board agreed to build the first metal building for a classroom in the county at North Duplin High School. The structure, to cost $13,000, will replace the mobile unit used for the drafting class that burned last year. All of the school's drafting class equipment was lost in the fire. The new structure will be 24-by-32 feet, heavily insulated, air conditioned and finished on the inside with paneling. The board expects to receive between $13,000 and $15,000 in the insurance settlement on the burned building. Superintendent L.S. Guy reported the Wallace Ele mentary School "Direction Sports" team won the na tional championship <n i-; Angeles. The team won the state championship at Greensboro in June. The program is designed to in crease interest in school among some poor achievers. The competition featured basketball. The board upheld the de cision of Wallace Elementary School teachers and Principal Cecil Beaman r.ot to promote two children *o the next grade following protest by the childrens' parents. Edmonia Gore appealed the school's decision to re tain her daughter in the first grade to the board, claiming the child received satisfac tory grades for all but the first grading period. At the end of the first grading period it was found the child needed glasses. After ob taining the glasses, her school work improved. How ever, her teacher and the principal believed the child would benefit by going over the first grade reading work again. Voting to uphold the hold back were E.L. Boyette, ' Jimmy Strickland and Joe Swinson. R.E. Wilkins ab stained. An abstention is listed as a yes vote. Twenty-four of 125 first graders in the school were held back last spring. Jimmy Matthews ques tioned the decision to keep his daughter in kindergarten for the second year. Gary Sanderson, assistant super intendent, explained the child's work was at the three or four-year-old level. He said both children took the California achievement test for their grade levels and the results bore out the decision to hold them back. The board voted unanimously to uphold the school decision. A study will be made of the time of each school bus route so drivers can be paid a flat amount each month, based on S3.65 an hour. The drivers will work with supervisors in making the study. Area Man Killed On Highway A 22-year-old Faison man was among eight persons who died on the state's highways this past weekend, the N.C. Highway Patrol re ported. Larry Hobbs of Route 1. Faison. died when his 1982 Toyota crossed the centerline and struck a 1982 Ford van head-on about 10 p.m. Fri day. The accident occurred ap proximately 8 miles south of Clinton, as Hobbs traveled, south on U.S. 701 toward Elizabethtown. The driver of the van. Mary Elizabeth Mills, 61, and her husband, Daniel Mills, were injured in the accident. Mrs. Mills suffered several broken ribs and a broken clavical, while her husband was treated for a concussion. The couple, residents of Georgetown, S.C., are in stable condition at N.C. Memorial Hospital at Chapel Hill. Both the Toyota and the van were completely demol ished. said Mark Dalton of the N.C. Highway Patrol. Eight Months Late Where's Your Plate? I Faison Mayor Francis Mc Colman thinks eight months is long enough for Faison residents to purchase their city plates. Although the town gave them away last year, this year's plates went on saic in January for SI.00. 4 tic pi ivc V? cm up alter February 15 to $2.00. Plates can be purchased at this price fot the rest of the month. Starting September 1, Residents not displaying Faison plates will be given a ticket and fined the cost of court. $31.00. t / MARIJUANA ? TALL WEED - ILLEGAL WEED - Duplin Deputy Rodney Thigpen holds upright some of the 12-foot tall marijuana plants discovered in a wooded area just north of the Wallace city limits on the west side of Highway 117. Duplin drug enforcement officers uprooted 75 of the tall plants. They were taken to the Duplin county landfill, burned and buried. Marijuana Plants Burned In Duplin The Duplin County She riff s Department Thursday discovered a marijuana patch in a wooded area near the northern city limits of Wallace and U.S. 117. Deputies found 75 plants about 12 feet high. They estimated the street value of the marijuana at $20,000. The found evidence of har vesting. Some plants had been cut and some leaves stripped. Officers cut down the 75 plants and burned them at the county landfill. Faison Board Raises Water Meter Deposit Ok's Sewage Plant Equipment Bv Sharon Overton Staff Writer The Faison Town Board approved last Wednesday the purchase of approxi mately $13,763 worth of equipment to be used in conjunction with the sewage treatment plant following an earlier vote to increase meter deposits for city water users from $15 to $35. The town has received and awarded a low bid of $9,614 on a farm tractor from Brewer Motor & Equip. Co. in Wallace and of $1,649 on a mower from Clinton Truck and Tractor. Bids for lab equipment are to be evalu ated by the engineer on the project. The equipment is expected to cost from $2 3.000. Finance manager Neil Mallory explained that 92.5 percent of the monies allo cated for the new euqipment will be reimbursed through an EPA sewer improvement grant. Acting on an earlier motion by Commissioner Bill Igoe, the board voted to raise water meter deposits by $10 in an effort to defray losses incurred when temporary residents leave town without paying their water bills. Ac cording to town Clerk Hazel Kelly, Faison lost almost $70 last year in such cases. She added that residents may obtain up to 50 days of water before the service is dis continued. Igoe recommended that the board raise the deposit by an amount sufficient to cover an average monthly ? water bill, which runs from $25 to $30. The commis sioners voted unanimously to increase the deposit from $15 to $35. Faison residents who use city sewer but pump their own water may have to start paying for sewer services after next month. The board discussed plans Wednesday to begin billing sewer-only residents a flat charge based on an average household usage. According to the sewer ordinance, the minimum sewer bill is $3.60. The town has been unable to charge these people for sewer since there is no water meter on the house to record what they use. The town board compro mised on a request from Faison resident Donald Rhodes that a 6-in. water line be run from his house near Ellis and Soloman streets. Rhodes claims that the J/?-in. line that exists there is not large enough to handle the three homes that draw from it. Saying the "money is tight," Commissioner Helen Britt moved that the town install a 2-in. line to Rhodes' house instead at a cost of $45 to the town and $361.04 to Rhodes. The board approved the motion. In further business, the commissioners accepted the resignation of Board of Ad justments member C.C. Rouse, appointing two new members to fill that vacancy and the one left by L.S. Guy, who resigned last month. In a letter to Mayor Francis McColman. Rouse stated that the "contradict ing language" in the rules caused his "inability to render a competent deci sion" in zoning pr< "-'cms. The board aptx inted Ethel Bowden. Jake Atkinson and Walter Thomas (alternate) to fill the positions, subject to their acceptance. The board also voted to continue reimbursing town policemen during court duty. Police Chief Randv Brock estimated that the town pays less than $6 per month for such expenses. Policemen also receive an additional $25 a month to cover off-duty time spent in court. JSTC Approves New Program James Sprunt Technical College of Kenansville has approved for the fall quarter of 1982. a 12-month technical specialty program in general office technology. The pur pose of the four-quarter dip loma program is to provide a concentration of training in skill areas designed to pro vide the basic skills and knowledge necessary to seek employment as a clerical office worker in a variety of office situations. Registration for this pro gram will be Sept. 28 oif campus. For further infor mation, call Retha Brown at 296-1341, ext. 213. or the registrar's office at 296-1341, ext. 236. *
The Duplin Times (Warsaw, N.C.)
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Aug. 12, 1982, edition 1
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