PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXYVH NO sn USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 DECEMBER 13. 1984 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Lodge Sponsors Spelling Bee
The St. John's Lodge in Kenansville sponsored a
spelling bee at the Kenansville Elementary School.
Winners and their parents and teachers were honored
last week with a dinner at the Lodge. A presentation of
a plaque, a dictionary and a certificate was made to the
spelling bee winners by Lodge Master Charles Ingram.
Pictured above, left to right, are, fourth grader Kenny
|| Benson, son of Kenneth and Brenda Benson; Kenans
ville Elementary School principal Wilbur Carr; fifth
grader David Casey, son of Dennis and Sandie Casey;
sixth grader Jerneal Pearsall, daughter of Diane
Pearsall; and retired Kenansville Elementary School
principal and St. John's Lodge treasurer, Z.W.
Frazelle. The spelling bee is a renewed tradition of the
St. John's Lodge, Ingram said. Today there are 115
members of the St. John's Lodge #13 in Kenansville.
Faison Board Approves
Handicap Report
Faison town commissioners
unanimously approved a handicap
regulation compliance report during
?\ the December 5 meeting of the
?J Board.
The report was compiled by town
administrator Neil Mallory. Faison
Mayor Frank McColman and board
member Bill Igoe. Duirng the
November 7 public hearing on the
compliance report. Board members
were issued copies and a vote
scheduled for the December meet
ing. No town citizens attended .the
public hearing.
^ Compliance with federal handicap
reported the paperwork should be
completed on the perpetual care
project at the Faison Cemetery by
January 1. Currently, Faison Ceme
tery Trustee and town commissioner
Jane Hollingsworth reported to the
board, the project has passed its goal
of $30,000 needed to provide
regulations by town facilities and
employment practices is necessary in
order to continue receiving revenue
sharing funds. Non-structural
changes to meet handicap regula
tions will begin immediately and
structural changes to town buildings
will be required by October of 1986.
Town attorney Garrett Ludlum
perpetual care for the cemetery.
Faison Mayor McColman declared
December as Selective Service
Registration month in Faison by
signing a proclamation sent to the
town by the federal agency.
A uniform fund was established
for Town Public Works Director Fred
Wheless. A fund of $100 was set up
until the end of the current budget
and a recommendation accepted to
consider $200 for uniforms in the
nest fisial year. The request was
"na-fe by Whele?s te several of he
town commissioners due to the
damage caused his clothes by
chemicals at the waste water treat
ment plant.
Commissioners authorized the
purchase of a new police car through
state contract. The delivery date is to
be late June. The new Ford will be
paid for out of the 1985-86 budget.
The board granted McCoy Best
permission to extend a water line
beyond the city limits. The request
was for a one-inch line to be run
outside the city limits along Highway
403 to furnish water to a hog
operation. Best agreed to furnish the
line and labor to install the pipe if the
town would install a meter.
A Christmas bonus was granted
four Warsaw radio dispatchers and
two Duplin County Deputies by the
town board. The bonuses were $50
each. Warsaw radio operators dis
patch Faison calls free of charge
during the year, and have in the past
been granted Christmas bonuses by
the Fa-son Commissioners.
Beulaville Board
Faced With Bad
- Water Samples
Beulaville Commissioners were
faced with the failure of six out of 30
water tests from the town system.
During the December 3 meeting.
Mayor Wilbur Hussey said a chance
exists that the system will be
required to add chlorine to the water.
The board was instructed by the
state to notify customers of the test
^ failures of town water. Notification
will be added to the next water
billing.
The board is currently awaiting
official notification by letter of the
necessary action to correct water
problems. According to Hussey,
indications point toward the installa
tion of a chlorination system. The
cost of chlorination pumps at each
well site is estimated at $800. And,
the system can be operated by
present town employees.
? The Commissioners unanimously
approved a $175 Christmas bonus for
each town employee. The bonus is
the same as awarded by the board
last Christmas.
Fannie Guy of Beulaville was *
selected as the town tax lister. Guy
was selected on a unanimous vote
from the 13 applicants for the
position.
The auction of surplus and used
equipment by the town last month
P brought approximately $700, Com
missioner S.A. Blizzard reported to
the board.
A report from the Beulaville town
library informed the board of $600 in
donations. The funds were from the
local Jaycee chapter and the Beula
ville National Spinning Company.
The Beulaville town library reported
daily visitors of 11 to 43 people and
36 to 97 pieces on loan each day. The
library is open each Monday, Wed
nesday and Friday, 1-5 p.m.
9 Alexander Judge was granted
permission to dump sewage
collected bv his septic tank cleaning
service into the town treatment
system. No rates were set for the
disposal of the sewage collected by
Judge's business.
A contract with Stanley Miller as
treatment plant operator was
brought before the board and
approved. The contract was for one
year at a fee of $6,200.
^ Town employees turned in
descriptions of their job duties as -
requested during the November
meeting of the board. The motion
* 4
m
had been defeated in a prior meeting
of the board, but was brought up
again in November and approved
on a three-two split vote. No action
was taken during the December
meeting to review the job descrip
tions.
Kenansville Opens First
Permanent Town Hall
<71 fL
Town Clerk Mary Ann Jenkins
moves comfortably and happily in
her new office.
"I can even look out and see the
sun. Well, not today. It's rainy, she
said last week on Wednesday.
Town records and files are gradu-'
ally being settled into place in
Kenansville's first permanent Town
Hall. On Monday night of last week
the Board of Commissioners held its
first meeting in the new Town Hall.
Last month, after several months
of negotiations, the town completed
the purchase of the former Federal
Land Bank building on Rutledge
Street ? N.C. 24 east. The town paid
#/J,UW IUI IIIC UUIIUIII^.
Formerly Che town used a crowded
space in the fire department build
ing. The chore of moving records and
files from the fire department is
finished.
"It's wonderful to be over here,"
Mrs. Jenkins said. "I iust didn't
have any room to work before."
The building will house the clerk's
office, police office, public works
director's office and the Kenansville
Chamber of Commerce.
Mrs. Jenkins has decorated a
Christmas tree in the spacious lobby,
which also is being used as the board
meeting room.
Town offices had been in the fire
department since about 1971, said
Woody Brinson, a former town
official who now is Duplin County
economic development director. For
many years before that, town
government operated from the back
of Holmes' Jewelry Store.
"It feels wonderful to have our
own town hall," Mayor Donald E.
Suttles said. "It's something we've
needed for a long time. We had run
out of room over at the fire house.
There was no place for filing cabinets
or much of anything else."
Kenansville, the Duplin County
seat, has a population of 931,
according to the 1980 U.S. Census.
Three-Car Wreck Kills
One Man, Injures Four
A 19-year-old Chinquapin man
was killed in a three-vehicle accident
at about 9:45 p.m. Thursday on N.C.
.50, about 21 miles south of Kenans
ville, the State Highway Patrol
reported.
James Darren Whaley, 19, died in
the accident. His vehicle received
about S9.000 in damage. He was not
wearing a seat belt, according to a
report by Trooper C.D. Rogers.
Four other people were injured in
the accident. Three were treated at
Duplin General Hospital and re
leased, a hospital spokeswoman
said. Two of the three had been
using seat belts, troopers said.
The fourth, a driver of one of the
vehicles, Victor Lee Henderson of
Route 2, Wallace, was admitted to
the hospital Thursday night and
released Friday afternoon, a spokes
woman said.
Henderson's vehicle was cut in
half by the crash. Henderson was not
wearing a sear belt. He has been
charged with driving while impaired
and driving while his license was
revoked, Rogers said.
The third vehicle received about
SI .500 in damage, the report said.
The wreck happened when
Whaley's car was traveling at high
speed behind a second speeding
vehicle, both northbound on N.C. 50.
Rogers said. The car in front of
V- haley's crossed the center line and
struck a car coming south, he said.
The impact knocked the southbound
vehicle into the path of Whaley's,
which crossed a ditch and struck a
tree, Rogers said.
Kenansville Names Streets
For Resurfacing Priorities
'"osts of resurfacing three streets
will be determined so the Town of
Kenansville's $33,000 street allo
cation from state Powell Bill funds
can be allocated.
The Town Board last week
directed Steve Drew, town main
tenance supervisor, to obtain cost
Figures.
In order, the boa. .
resurfacing arc Hill, Seminary and
Duplin streets.
The board also approved a water
and sewer contract involved in the
satellite annexation of the County
Squire and Vintage Inn property on
N.C. 24 two miles west of Kenans
ville.
11:i rh<? c -? -rac. he property
owners agree to supply their own
water and sewer service. The
property is owned by a company
formed by the Quinn Co. of Warsaw
and Charles F. Cates & Sons Inc. of
Faison. Quinn is a large wholesale
food firm and Cates is a pickle
company.
Truck Driver Charged
In Fatal Accident
Norwood C. Chestnutt, 61, of
Route 1, Warsaw, was killed in a
truck-car crash early Wednesday on
N.C. 24 three miles east of Beula
ville.
Trooper R.N. Johnson, the inves
tigating officer, reported the logging
truck, driven by Stephen James
Humphrey, 27, of Route 1, Rich
lands, palled out of "a path" onto
N.C. 24. As it come onto the highway
it made a right turn. The eastbound
car, driven by Chestnutt, struck the
rear of the truck, became attached to
it and was pulled 60 feet from the
point of impact. Humphrey was
uninjured.
The report said rain was tailing at
the time.
The Beulaville Rescue Squad car
ried Chestnutt of Duplin General
Hospital in Kenansville where he
was pronounced dead on arrival.
Johnson charged Humphrey with
failing to yield the right-of-way and
death by vehicle.
Appear In County Schools
Folktellers Bring Out The Duplin Story-Teller
Folktellers Barbara Freeman and
Connie Blake appeared in Duplin
schools last week and Kenansville's
Darlene Frederick listened atten
tively to learn skills useful in her goal
to someday be a professional story
teller.
Darlene is a teacher's aide at
Kenansville Elementary School and
has been telling stories in Duplin
schools since beginning her job five
years ago.
"1 got started five years ago,"
Darlene said. "1 was in a workshop
and I heard Jackie Torrans, who is a
well-known story-teller; that's when
I made up my mind I wanted to do
that!
"I went home that day and
practiced," Darlene smiled. "My
first audience was students at
Kenansville Elementary and then I
went to some of the other schools
and now I've been nominated to go
to Winston-Salem as a story-teller!
"I just love to tell stories,"
Darlene laughed. "I can watch the
expressions on the children's faces
and know whether I'm doing a good
job or not. And, I'm really looking
forward to meeting with an adult
audience ? I've never worked with
ages above the seventh grade, yet.
"But, adults I think would like
ghost stories," Darlene continued.
"Yes, I think I'd tell them ghost
storied, and I've found even the older
people like to hear the Uncle Remus
tales, so, I'd throw in a couple of
those, too.
"When I first started telling Uncle
Remus tales," Darlene said, liicic
seemed to be some conflict in me
and my audience. But, the tales have
to be put in perspective as a thing of
the past ? as a part of the Black
heritage ? a part to be proud of and
not be ashamed of the dialect.
"I would welcome the opportunity
to expand my story-telling to adult
audiences and I want local civic or
social groups to feel free to contact
me," Darlene said. "1 hope to
become a professional story-teller in
the future and I welcome any chance
to tell stories." Darlene enjoys
telling the stories of North Carolina
ghosts from the book by Nancy
Roberts, along with th^ tales from
Uncle Remus. To the older
audiences, she also includes stories
written by Edgar Allen Poe.
The quest to become a story-teller
has not always been a smooth
journey, Darlene explained. Times
came which made her want to give
up, but through the encouragement
of friends at Kenansville Elementary
School, she continues to entertain
and 'each students through the use
of stoi ies. I
"1 especially think of Wanda
Lanier, the librarian at Kenansville
Elementary School, when I needed
encouragement. She is always there
encouraging me to go on, even
though I'm alone in the quest to
become a story-teller."
The professional folktellers ap
peared in four Duplin schools
December 5 and 6. The native North
Carolina folktellers, Barbara
Freeman and Connie Blake, tell a
variety at mountain stories. The two
have traveled throughout the United
States and many of the European
nations telling stories of American
heritage and tales brought to the
new world by the first settlers.
"Adults and children art all good
? ' ' .' ' - _ ?
audiences and we enjoy each,"
Connie Blake said. "The young are
wonderful, the junior high kids are a
challenge, and adults don't think
they will be interested but become
involved very quickly! Stories just
win people over!"
1 he folklellers have mree albums
of (ales available and two have won
national awards. The women were
employed in a library until 1975, and
since, they have toured all over the
world and are well known folktellers
in all parts of the world.
JU Kenansville's Twelve Days Of *1
$ Christmas Begins Friday ^
r
Fokltellers In Duplin Schools
Folkiellers Barbara Freeman and Connie Regan Blake
are pictured left right above as they capture
'I
attention of elementary school children in Wallace. The
Folktellers visited four Duplin schools last Wednesday
and Tnursdag.