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PROGRESS SENTINEL
j VOL. XXXXVII NO. 49 USPS 162-81 ' KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 DECEMBER 8. 1983 20 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Wafershed
Permit Suspended
The Army Corps of En
gineers has suspended the
construction permit for the
Muddy Creek Watershed
project because of an ap
parent excessive amount of
spoil material from earlier
work ont he creek and on the
companion Limestone Creek.
Both projects are intended
} to clear clogged stream
channels to reduce flooding,
work began a year ago on the
Limestone Creek project.
Although bids have been
opened on the major portion
of the Muddy Creep project,
contracts have not been
awarded. A smaller portion
of the project is under con
struction.
i
>
The permit wa -nded
until the spoil p n can
be resolved, si larles
Hollis, chief of the nviron
mental branch of rhe Army
Corps of Engineers district
office in Wilmington. Spoil is
material dredged from
stream channels or canals
and deposited on banks or in
areas set aside for the pur
pose.
A meeting of Soil Conser
vation Service and corps
officials to work out the
problem is tentatively sche
duled, according to Hollis
and Kenneth Futreal, Duplin
County soil conservationist.
Both men said they believe
the problem can be resolved.
Under the federal Clean
Water Act, permits from the
corps are required before
spoil can be deposited on
wetlands, Hollis said.
Watershed projects such
as the two in eastern Duplin
are managed by the Soil
Conservation Service, which
has offices in most rural
counties. Plans for these
projects must be approved by
the corps and verious state
and federal agencies before
permits can be issued and
contracts awarded.
"The work they have done
(in Limestone) has fairly sig
nificant problems being in
compliance with the permit
we-issued. We need to get
the problem resolved.,"
Hollis said.
Fund-Raisers Collect
*9000 For Sprunt
> Technical College
The James Spurnt Tech
nical College Foundation
fund-raising campaign that
will end Jan. 1 has collected
$9,000. foundation chariman
Tom Yates reported to the
college's trustee board last
Thursday. A goal of
has been set.
The foundation, which has
Jl $25,000 from previous fund
campaigns, uses its funds for
scholarships and equipment
for the school. Yates said.
Also at the trustees"
me? ? nR. Gene Ballard, dean
of Instruction, said the en
rollment during the fall
quarter was 90 students less
tJyaiS the enrollment at the
same time last year.
Alfred Wells, dean of stu
^ der s, said 763 students
W w re nrolled in the fall
quarter ? 243 in the voca
tional curriculums. 317 in
technical programs. 99 in
general education and 104 in
special credit programs. Of
the total number of students,
523 students are enrolled for
full-time on-campus pro
grams in the fall auaner.
A year ag \ 1 * aid. 'he
fall quarter enrollment
totaled 853 students.
Rita Brown, director of ad
missions and records, said
13,632 people have enrolled
as full-time students since
the school was established
some 20 years ago. Of that
total, 6.271 enrolled in tech
nical, 5.307 in vocational and
2.054 in general education
programs. She said 47.708
students have enrolled in
continuing education pro
grams.
The number of students
graduated from the various
full-time programs is much
less than the enrollment. The
school has graduated 90 stu
dents from general educa
tion, 690 from technical,
1,053 from vocational, 158
from an adult high school
Pfwgram, -now discontinued,
id 710 from general edu
cation programs ? a total of
1,833 students.
"A lot of times students
can get jobs before complet
ing their programs, so they
leave because that's what
they were here for," said
board Chairman Jimmy
Strickland about the diffe
rence between enrollments
and graduations.
Trustee Emmett Wickline
of Beulaville said, "If a kid
quit school because he was
disgusted with the three
'R's' and he's here learning
a trade, that's all he's in
terested in."
The engineering p p
proved in the permi ed
for keeping spoil are. .re
fully defined and as small as
possible, he said.
"They got more material
(spoil) than expected, it ap
pears." Hollis said. "The
problem appears to stem
from over-digging. The extra
dirt basically blocks the flow
of water between creek and
swamp."
Futreal said. "I think it's a
difference of opinion on l\ow
the work should be done. Our
biologist thinks it's fine as it
is."
The crops permit covered
both the Limestone Creek
and Muddy Creek watershed
projects in eastern Duplin
County near Beulaville. The
Limestone Creek channel
restoration project has been
completed, Futreal said.
The first contract on the
Muddy Creek Watershed in
cluded channel restoration
on four miles of the stream
from the Northeast Cape
Fear River to N.C. 41. Fu
treal said. This work is
nearing completion.
Another contract will be
for about 20 miles of channel
restoration and construction
of drainage channels from
wet areas in the watershed to
the creek. Bids on this work
have been received, but con
tracts have not been
awarded. Futreal said. If the
spoil problem is solved, the
contracts may be awarded
next month, he said.
Both the Limestone and
Muddy Creek projects are
planned to improve drainage
in an area where sedimen
tation and trash from two
centuries of agriculture and
forestry have blocked normal
escape routes for excess
water, causing flooding of
fields and forests. The
Muddy Creek project in
cludes 31,000 acres while
Limestone involves 41,000
acres.
About 750 people own land
in the area, although not all
of their land is involved in
t hp nrnlOi<tl t'litrail r-ni/I
STUDENTS DECORATE TREE - The James
Kenan Future Business Leaders of America
club members decorated a Christmas tree at
the high school last week. The tree is located
? in the main lobby of the high school.
Pictured above are the FBLA officer* ?? *hev
i
decorate the Christmas tree at James
Kenan, left to right, treasurer David
Williamson, vice-president Shirley Davis,
secretary Cynthia Middlcton. reporter
Vanessa Williams, president Allyson Stroud,
and parliamentarian Marshall Winter*
NEW CHAIRMAN ELECTED - The Duplin County Board
of Commissioners selected a new chairman at the
December 5 meeting at the courthouse in Kenansville.
Commissioner Alan Nethercutt of the Limestone District
was selected bv the Board to fill the position as Chairman.
Nethercutt will replace Commissioner William Costin, who
served as Chairman of the Board for 1983. Commissioner
Calvin C. Turner was selected to the position of vice
chairman for 1984
Two Firms In Contention
For Project In Wallace
Either Dixie General Con
tractors inc. of Wallace or
T.A. Loving & Co. of Golds
boro is the low bidder for the
general contract for waste
water treatment facility im
provements in Wallace.
When bids were opened
last week in Town Hall, Dixie
General appeared to have
entered the low bid of
$860,929.30. The next lowest
bid appeared to be Loving's
at $863,888.
An inspection of the bids,
however, showed that the
Loving bid appeared to carry
a $3,000 item tl it could have
been excluded.
If the itemizi I tabulation
finds a <3,0Qr 'ror. loving
would be the low bidder by
$51 at $860,888.
Don Butler of Henry van
Oesen and Associates of
Wilmington, the town's en
gineering firm, said the bids
will be tabulated and sent to
the U.S. Environmental Pro
tection Agency for approval.
If the EPA finds the low
bid is in order, Butler said,
the contract could be
awarded this year. The con
tractor will have 15 months to
complete the work.
Five companies bid on the
general contract.
Seven companies bid on
the electrical contract. Ohms
Electric of Lumberson sub
mitted the apparent low bid
of$41,873.
Other electrical contract
bids were as follows: $42,372
from Tucker Electric Co. of
Burgaw; $46,900. Electric
Service Corp of Wilmingon;
$48,424, Watson Electric
Construction Co. of Wilson;
$49,239, Sutton Electric of
Mount Olive; $52,840, J.W.
Campbell Electric Corp. of
Wilson, and $62,000, Roa
noke Electric Corp. of Pan
tego.
These other general con
tract bids were received:
$894,903 from W.F. Brunk
ley & Son of Granite Quarry
and $899,747 from R.E.
Hayes General Contractor
Inc. of Dunn.
Rids were in line with cost
estimates. "We allowed
$951,000 and will come out at
about $905,000." Butler
said.
M avor Melvin Cording,
who presided at the bid
opening, said the town set
aside its share of the cost,
about $160,000, several
years ago.
Wallace has been under a
"no growth" order from the
state Environmental
Management Commission
for several years because of
limitations on its sewage
treatment capacity and the
quality of discharged water,
he said, adding. "We' had to
go to Raleigh to convince the
fcMC we could handle sew
age from a new apartment
complex."
The system's treatment
capacity of 500.000 gallons
per day will be increased to
640,000 gallons per day. The
quality of the discharge will
also be upgraded.
Because plans call for the
installation of a type of filter
system never before used in
the United States, the EPA
will provide 85 percent or
$260,081 of the $305,978 cost
of the filter system. The
system is built by EIMCo of
Salt Lake City, Butler said.
EPA will pay 75 percent,
about $450,000, of the re
maining $600,000 cost of the
project.
,J?V j/ii uriwi saiu.
Greenevers Receives
Reynolds Foundation Grant
Mayor Alex Brown of
Greenevers has received
notification from Smith
Bagley, president of the Z.
Smith Reynolds Foundation,
Inc., that the trustees of the
Foundation has approved a
grant in the amount of $7,500
for the town. These funds,
together with HUD commu
nity development block grant
funds of $58,500, will be
used to restore the former
Little Creek School Budding
into a community center for
the citizen* The annlication
for the grant was prepared
for the to\ n by McDavi
Associates, !nc. Commu. it
Developme t office o
Kenansville, wl o are coor
dinating tl restoratioi
project.
The Z. S Reynolds
Foundation v stabl si
in 1936 as a i ial 11
youngest son
of the R.J. R -
Co. In that j
and two sist
provided ths
tance from h
go to the est. men:
trust for the fit > '
people of North Carolina.
One of the initial trustees of
the Foundation was Z. Smith
Reynolds' uncle, William
Near Reynolds, who at his
death in 1951, created a truy
which now provides the
major portion of the Foun
dation's annual income.
The Foundation has now
made- 1,620 grants totaling
more than $114,000,000 to
more than 824 recipients in
all of North Carolina's 100
counties. Major attention has
been given to education and
health care, with increased
interest in recent years tn
improving the criminal
justice system in the state,
in strengthening grassroots
advocacy groups, and in
youth programs, family
planning, cultural activities,
rural life, the handicapped
and some 20 other fields of
concern.
Two Charge
Death Of Mo.
Beating
Olive Man
Police charged two men
last week in the death of
Jerry Coleman Mercer, 26, of
Mount Olive, who was found
badly beaten Nov. 7 on the
southern bank of Greenfield
Lake i^i Wilmington.
Mercer was found uncon
scious in bushes in the 1800
block of Lake Shore Drive.
He died that night iNew
Hanover Memorial Hospital.
An autopsy determined
causes of death to be internal
hemorrhaging, blood loss
and exposure.
Michael David Clemmons,
21, of Wilmington, and Paul
Steven Dennis, 26, of Can
ton, Ohio, were each charged
with one count ot tirst-degree
murder in connection with
Mercer's death.
Clemmons surrendered to
police Thursday and was
being held in New Hanover
County Jail with no provision
for bail at that time. Dennis
was being held by authorities
in Canton, Ohio.
Murphy
Co-Chairman Of
Commission
Kep. Wendell H. Murphy
of Duplin County has been
appointed by House Speaker
Liston B. Ramsey as co
Rep. Wendell
H. Murphy
cnairman uf a special com
mission to study matters
iffecting the offices of dis
irict attorney and register of
deeds.
The legislative research
commission study will in
clude the possibility of es
tablishing a standards com
mission for district attorneys
and also consider all aspects
of the office of register of
deeds, including the ques
tion of whether salaries and"
fees they receive are ade
quate.
Murphy was appointed to
replace Tom Rabon of Bruns
wich County, who recently
resigned.
A farming executive in
Rose Hill. Murphy repre
sents Dunlin and Jones
counties in tne 10th House
District.
i
Jury Returns Verdict Of Guilty
In Slaying Of Rose Hill Woman
Herman Leslie Davis, 37,
was found guilty last Thurs
day of second-degree murder
in the death of Lillian Miller
Groves of North Pine Street,
Rose Hill.
Superioi Court Judge
James Llewellyn of Kinston
sentenced Davis to 35 years
in prison. A Duplin County,
jury deliberated the verdict
for 1 '/a hours.
The victim's body was
found at her home on June
18. She was partially clothed
and hau ucen oeaten and
strangled, said Dewey Hud
son, assistant distirct attor
ney.
When he was arrested.
Davis' address was listed as
210 Queens Road. Jackson
ville.
?i