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VOL. XXXXVII NO. 30 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE , NC 28349 JULY 26. 1984 14 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CFNTS PLUS TAX
John Rice Returns As Phenius In 1984 Season Of THE LIBERTY CART.
'Lead Actor Changes At
Drama In Kenansville
THE LIBERTY CART outdoor
drama of Kenansville announces the
return of John Rice in the role of
Phenius Pickett. Rice resumes the
0 role in the July 26th performance.
He returns from the 1983 season as
Phenius Pickett in Randolph Umber
ger's historical outdoora drama,
THE LIBERTY CART, in the William
R. Kenan Memorial Amphitheatre.
Prior to working with THE
LIBERTY CART, Rice portrayed the
lead role in the outdoor drama
BLACKBEARD in Bath. He por
trayed the pirate foi two seasons
" beWke joining fhe cast of THE
? LIBERTY CART.
' "I am pleased to be back with
THE LIBERTY CART," John Rice
said. "North Carolina is known for
its many outstanding outdoor
dramas, but THE LIBERTY CART is
one of the best.
"THE LIBERTY CART is one of
the more personal shows. The events
and characters are interesting and
very likeable people with a story to
tell," Rice said.
Rice is a native of Washington,
D.C., and currently resides with his
wife Tina in Chicago, 111. He at
tended Carnegie-Mellon University
in Pittsburg, Pa., but transferred to
Ohio State University in Columbus
where he received a bachelor of
science education and master of arts
in theatre, speech and English.
"Phenius has many faces or .
qualities that just naturally draw
people;, he is the homespun type -r
the humanitarian, the traveler, the
philosopher." Rice explained the
offer to complete the 1984 season in
the role of Phenius Pickett drew him
back to North Carolina after recently
completing a move to Chicago from
Bowling Green, Ohio, where he
worked as an instructor at Perrys
burg Exempted Village Schools.
"John Rice is an outstanding
actor," Artistic Director of THE
LIBERTY CART David Thomas said.
"The talent and vitalaity of John
Rice brings Phenius and THE
LIBERTY CART to life, and the
drama is fortunate to be associated
with an actor of Rice's capabilities."
THE LIBERTY CART opened July
13 in the William R. Kenan Me
morial Amphitheatre in Kenansville.
The season continues through
August 25, each Thursday, Friday
and Saturday evening at 8:15 p.m.
Wallace's Frink Sentenced
.In Children's Fire Deaths
Anthony Eugene Frink, 28, of
Route 2, Wallace, was sentenced this
past week to four years in prison
after pleading guilty to charges of
exposing children to fire.
His four children died in a fire that
broke out after he left them alone at
home.
He was sentenced in Duplin
ft County Superior Court by Judge
Henry L. Stevens III of Warsaw. The
judge recommended work release for
the prisoner.
The charges arose from the death
of Frink's four children Feb. 29 in a
fire that destroyed the family's home
in the Deep Bottom community
about 12 miles east of Wallace.
Frink was charged with four mis
demeanor counts of exposing chil
dren to fire and with four counts of
manslaughter.
In a plea bargain, the manslaugh
ter charges were dropped and the
four exposure charges consolidated
into two charges. Ne was sentenced
to two years on each charge, the
sentences to run consecutively.
Dewey Hudson, an assistant dis
trict attorney, was the prosecutor.
Frink was represented by Vance
Gavin of Kenansville.
The dead children were Anthony
Marcellus, 6, Keiona Lamore, 4,
Kawanna Yashekie, 3, and Katrell
Twanette, 1.
At the time of the fire, the mother.
Florene Frink, was attending a
church service in Goldsboro.
Frink said he left the house to walk
to a nearby store for cigarettes.
Finding the store closed, he started
toward another, a short distance
away, but changed his mind and
turned around for home. He saw the
flames >.nd ran the rest of the way to
the house. He was unable to get
inside.
Autopsies the following day at the
Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jack
sonville indicated that the children
died of smoke inhalation.
A gas heater in the hallway in the
center of the four-room home was
suspected as the cause of the fire.
3Dr. Lee Resigns Position At
Goshen For Private Practice
Dr. Ken Lee, internist at Goshen
Medical Center, turned in his final
resignation to the Board of Directors
July 6. Lee is employed as a
part-time physician at the Center in
^ Faison.
* "I have been up-front with the
Board at Goshen Medical Center
from the very beginning," Dr. Ken
Lee, internist at Goshen Medical
Center, said. "I told them I would
work at the Center a couple of years
and get to know the community, and
if I liked the area I would begin to set
up a private practice." Lee's resig
nation was presented to the Goshen
Medical Center Board of Directors at
the July 17 meeting. The resignation
A is effective October 6.
~ "I will not be leaving Goshen
Medical Center high and dry," Lee
said. "I have a verbal agreement,
Which will be put, in writing, to
continue working for the Center on
an as-needed basis." Lee's resig
nation is six months short of com
pleting a two-year contract originally
signed with Goshen Medical Center.
With the resignation of Dr. Lee,
Goshen Medical Center faces the
? loss of their second physician within
the past six months. Dr. Jeff
Margolis, internist, resigned in Feb
ruary effective June 30, to enter
private ^sctice in Sampson County.
Dr. Ken Lee
Efforts to recruit a full-time pny
sician to the vacant position at ,
Goshen have not been successful at
this time, but Center Administrator
Bob Hauck expects to have a
replacement by September 1. <
"The loss of these physicians does
not put Goshen Medical Center out
of business," Bob Hauck, adminis
trator of Goshen Medical Center,
said, "A large majority of the people
who visit Goshen never see a
physician ? they are treated by the
physician assistao' iff' visit the
licensed practical nurse or the
dentistry wing at the Center."
Although no prospective candi
dates have been located. Hauck said
the Center is in the process of
:ontacting 450 Family Practice Resi
dency Programs to recruit a physi
:ian for Goshen. In addition, Hauch
pointed out, the Directors have filed
a request for a physician with the
National Health Service Corp.
Currently Dr. Lee is associated
with the private general family
medical practice of Dr. Edwin P.
Ewers of Warsaw. Leaving Goshen
Medical Center, Lee will Continue in
the Ewers practice on a full-time
basis.
Lee is a native of Macao, a
Portugese colony southwest of Hong
Kong, and after his family moved to
California, he became a citizen of the
United States and enrolled at Pasa
dena City College while still attend
ing high school. When Lee later
graduated from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, he was the
only one in his class to graduate With
two degrees af.er only three years of
study. Lee graduated with degrees in
electrical engineering and genetic
biologjy. He also enrolled in the
University of California School of
Medicine and School of Pharmacy at
the same time and graduated from
bfwh.
d i
School Board Adopts 10-Year
Buildina Plan For System
At the July 17th meeting of the
Duplin County Board of Education,
the board adopted a facility impro
vement plan for the Duplin County
school system.
Phase One of the plan, which
covers 1984 through 1987 (plus or
minus) is to build additions to the
James Kenan High School to house
the 9th grade (12 classrooms with
media center, guidance, band, ad
ministrative suites, and lunchroom
updating. The estimated cost is S2
million.
Some of the rationale given
includes: The facility would be
needed if James Kenan is to remain
a high school or if it were to be a
middle school, the additions would
still be needed. Grades 7-8 would be
left at the existing Warsaw Junior
High and E.E. Smith Junior High,
with only that part of the building
required to support the instructional
program receiving daily custodial
, care. The remaining part of the
building would house special pro
grams or serve as storage space.
Grades K-6 would continue to be
housed at Warsaw Elementary and
Kenansville Elementary with only
modifications to the suites requiring
chanees there in the next few years.
? Build on to North Duplin High
School to house the 7th and 8th
grades on one campus. The esti
mated cost, $365,000. Some of the
rationale: The facility at James
Kenan would be needed if it is to
remain a high school, or if it were to
be turned into a middle school. North
Duplin Junior High School would be
phased out of use for public school
purposes. North "Duplin Elementary,
kindergarten through 6th grade,
would continue to be housed in the
existing building with modifications
to suites.
? Build a band area at Charity
Middle School. Cost, $60,000. The
ationtte: The band facility is needed
very badly now and all other facilities
in the Wallace-Rose Hill district
would remain as they now exist.
Also in Phase One is to change
some of the open classrooms into
single classrooms in all four of the
schools where they are now located.
This change would take place at the
Christmas break and after the first
year of the pilots, 1984-85 plans
would be developed, and educational
specifications would be completed so
that the remaining suites in the four
schools could be modified appro
priately within a two-year period or,
sooner if possible.
Phase Two, which is to take place
from 1987 to 1991, includes adopting
the entire East Duplin district plan.
This means a new elementary school
at B.F. Grady, a new elementary
school at Beulaville, and the addition
of 4-6 at Chinquapin Primary campus
and build a new middle school to
serve the district in the vicinity of
East Duplin High School. Some of
the rationale: East Duplin High
School would remain a 9-12' with
approximately 730 students. With
the continuing decline in enrollment
in the East Duplin district, the 7th
and 8th grades in the individual
schools would be: in 1987 at B.F.
Grady, 95, at Beulaville, 192, and at
Chinquapin, 104. In the year 1992 at
B.F. Grady, 81, at Beulaville 155 and
at Chinquapin, 121.
The East Duplin middle school
would have an enrollment of 391,
offering a better middle school cur
riculum, and transportation from
either school district should not
exceed an additional 10-12 miles.
Duplication of facilities at the three
sites for 7th and 8th grades would
not be as well planned and spent as
one set of complete facilities at one
site, since it would be readily
accessible to all school attendance
areas within the district (shops, labs,
gym, dressing, etc.) The three new
elementary schools would provide an
exemplary elementary program
without distractions of older students
and their needs. This phase of the
plan was adopted with more research
going into whether or not the
elementary schools would be K-6 or
K-8.
Phase Three to begin in 1992 is to
build the needs at Wallace-Rose Hill
and Charity Middle School at an
estimated cost of $1 million. Some ot
the rationale: The construction of an
auditorium at Wallace-Rose Hill
High School would serve the needs
of the entire district and place an
auditorium in all school districts
excepting North Duplin. The
modernization of Charity and the
refurbishing of Wallace-Rose Hill
High School should be accomplished
during the next 10-12 years. The
overloads at Wallace Elementary for
the past two years should be
monitored closely, and if Wallace
Elementary continues to grow, some
consideration must be given to
relieve the overloads.
Phase Four planning 1987-1922.
Continue planning and monitoring of
student population and curriculum
M
offerings at James Kenan High
School and North Duplin High
School. Within the next six years, if
enrollments in the two school con
tinue to decline, begin the process of
uniting the schools so that imme
diately after the Phase Three pro
jects are complete, work can begin
on the new school. Some of the
rationale submitted: Considerable
planning has already occurred but
the immediate plan for James Kenan
and North Duplin (Phase One) will
take care of the curriculum problem
for a few years until more pressing
facility needs have been met in
Phase One, Phase Two and Phase
Three. It will be assumed that the
North Duplin High School curricu
lum and support programs will
continue to receive special help
throughout the duration of Phases
One through Three. Within the next
six years, the board will begin plans
for a new 9-12 high school to serve
the James Kenan district and the
North Duplin district if: 1) The
student population in these two
districts continue to decline. 2) The
curriculum offered is deemed inade
quate to prepare the affected young
sters adequately. 3) The repair and
maintenance costs cannot be main
tained at a reasonable level. 4) Any
other legitimate reason the Board of
Education deems adequate to con
sider.
Schools Respond
To Enrollment Dip
In Duplin County
A declining birth rate in Duplin
County is creating some problems in
long-range school planning.
Superintendent L.S. Guy, in a
cover statement to the long-range
facility plan approved this past week
by the board of education, wrote:
"Cost of construction continues to be
a critical factor, especially when
planning would indicate a shortrange
surplus of space."
To maintain the quality of educa
tion in the county system, some old
buildings need replacement, the
report says. Some combination of
schools may become necessary.
A continuing enrollment decline
could force consolidation of North
Duplin and James Kenan high
schools for educational efficiency,
the report says.
The division of school planning of
the N.C. Department of Public In
struction developed the long-range
plan for Duplin County in 1982-83.
The plan calls for consolidation of
the two high schools under either of
two options ? grades 9-12 and a
facility for about 900 students or
grades 10-12 in a facility for about
650 students.
The study projects declining at
tendance for James Kenan and
relatively stable attendance for the
present North Duplin High School.
By the 1986-87 school year, Kenan
High School's enrollment is project
ed at 632, compared with 707 in the
1981-82 year.
North Duplin's projected enroll
ment for 1986-87 is 287, compared
with 285 in the 1981-82 year.
The Department of Public Instruc
tion projects Duplin County's 1986
87 school membership at 7,831
students compared with 8,437 in the
1981-82 year.
Duplin County school enrollment
in kindergarten through sixth grade
is projected at 4,090 in 1986-87 com
pared with 4,565 in the 1981-82 year.
A slight increase in seventh- and
eighth-grade enrollment is projected
for the 1986-87 year at 1,260 com
pared with. 1(541 for the 1981-82
school year. Enrollment in the high
school grades (9-12) is projected at
7.831 for the 1986-87 year compared
with 8.437 for the 1981-82 vear. ~
The enrollment projections wereP
based on the county's declining birth
rate from 1971 to 1981. In 1971, 714
children were born in the county.
That dropped to 531 in 1981.
Increases in births were registered in
only two of those years.
The study showed that of the 714
children born in 1971, 98.9 percent
entered first grade in the 1977-78
school year.
From the 1977-78 to the 1981-82
school years, enrollment of begin
ning students exceeded the births six
years earlier, reflecting immigration
to Duplin.County.
The 1980 U.S. census showed the
county had gained 2,643 people since
1970, the first population gain in two
decades. The 1980 census showed
the county had 40,658 people com
pared with 38,015 in 1970.
Faison 4-H'er Helps
Miqrant Child Learn English
Parents remember helping teach
their children to talk and later read.
Norman Ezzell, a Duplin 4-H'er, has
taken a similar opportunity to help
teach a migrant child English.
While most migrant children
attend school in the United States
and have limited use of the English
language and mathematics, 10-year
old Maria Vega fell behind the other
children of migrant families and
Norwood Ezzell tutors her.
Norwood is a rising sophomore at
North Duplin. High School who spent
one hour a day last week tutoring
Maria. He plans to continue the
sessions through the summer pit>
gram for pre school and school-age
migrant children held at North
Duplin Elementary School.
Maria is one of 80 migrant
children attending the summer
school at North Duplin. The program
is designed to provide educational
assistance to the children in mathe
matics and the English language,
di|tector the school, Kenneth
Avent, said. In addition to education,
the students receive health services
from Goshen Medical Center and are
fed three balanced meals a day.
School hours are 8 a.m. through 7
p.m. The program opened June 20
and continues through July 31.
According to Avent, the enrollment
started with 40 students and has
doubled.
"Maria is real smart," Norwood
Ezzell said. "She is catching on very
quickly. We started with the ABCs
and then moved on to counting and
finally reading stories.
"She understands the stories and
recognizes a lot of words when she
sees them. Today we tried some
nursery rhymes, but they were too
hard and I don't think she under
stood them.
"I had been asked to help with
school and later Maria's teacher
talked to me about this. So, 1 ended
up tutoring Maria and it has been a
real experience.
"1 have to admire rvmna. Nor
wood said. "If 1 were in her place, I
would be scared to death, and I don't
know if I could get along." This is
Maria's first summer in Duplin.
Many of the migrant children at
tending North Duplin have been in
the Faison area before.
Working with Maria earns Nor
wood points toward a possible
scholarship through the personal
development 4-H service projects.
Norwood plans to earn additonal
points toward the scholarship
through other local service projects
in the Faison area.
"Other migrant children help
translate for Maria," Norwood said.
"But the chance to come to the North
Duplin program helps all the chil
dren. The school offers the migrant
children an opportunity to learn and
get used to our (American) ways, as
well as just our language."
Norwood is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Norwood Ezzell of Faison and is
a member of the Oak Ridge 4-H
Club.