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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXVIU NO. S ^ USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE. NC 28349 January 31.1985 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Hospital Auxiliary Donates Funds For Equipment
The Duplin General Hospital Auxiliary donated $1,500
to the facility for the purchase of a bronchoscope.
Pictured above, Duplin General Hospital Auxilary
^ members, left to right, Louise Mitchell and Sallie
w Ingram, present Hospital Administrator Richard
Harrell with a check for the new equipment. According
(o Harrell and Auxiliary members, the bronchoscope is
used to view the upper airway passage, larynx, trachea
and bronchi. The Auxiliary now has a membership of
more than 30 volunteers. Anyone wishing to join will be
welcomed.
Arts Council Fund Drive
Begins "Run With The Arts"
t
"Run with the Arts!" is the theme
of the 1985 Duplin County Arts
Council fund drive.
"We want to try to maintain the
good things in <ur schools," Duplin
County Arts Council Director Merle
Creech said. "This year we had a lot
of extras like the Army Chorus, the
Goldsboev High School .Qhorus and
lpc! Mount Olive College Singers
Aud, to continue at the current level,
9 the Arts Council has set a goal of
$15,000." Each year the Duplin
County Arts Council organizes two
major performances and one artist
residency at each of Duplin's public
schools.
"This year we exceeded that level
at every school because of the extra
free programming," Merle said. "1
mean, there wasn't a performance
fee, but there were other expenses
I for these groups, like travel. Of
course these type ofprogramsaren't
available every year, but the Arts
Council continues to seek these types
of quality performers."
Last year the Arts Council ex
ceeded its $10,000 fund drive by
$2,000. Merle said. And, this year's
fund drive will begin in the schools.
The school fund drive begins Febru
ary 11-15 and leads into the com
munity effort, February 18 through
mid-March. Brochures for the
annual fund drive are currently
being circulated.
"A point the Arts Council wants to
emphasize is the school fund drive,"
Merle said. /'The school which
collects the most money will be
a\4j?ded an extra concert or per
formance in the spring. And com
munity businesses and parents that
regularly donate can make their
contribution through the school to
support that school's change for
additional programming."
Individual classes raising the most
within each school will also receive
special recognition, Merle pointed
out. The 'Red Sneaker Award' will
be presented to the champion fund
raising classes of the Duplin ele
mentary schools. And, the senior
high school champion fund-raising
classes will be presented an old
classic movie.
In the coming year, the funds
raised during the drive will go to
finance programming in the schools.
Many of the programs featured
through artist residencies were re
quested in the past year, and Merle
said the Arts Council will continue to
work with the needs of the individual
schools.
"In the coming year we hope to
offer more dance groups," Merle
said. "But, most of all we want to
offer more things in which students
can participate.
"In the past year we have found
that working through the requests of
the schools has been successful,"
she said. a program is
designed by a school, then you know
ii meets their needs." An example of
the requests from the schools is a
scries of pottery classes the Arts
Council is arranging for the spring.
Requests filled during the year have
included the residency of two visual
artists in Kenansville and Wallace '
schools.
The Community Fund Drive is
being coordinated by the Arts
Council Board of Directors, Merle
said. And, past presidents of fhc
Duplin Arts Council Board arc
serving as honorary chairpersons of
the fund drive. These past presi
dents include Irving Graham,
Johnny Williams, Dennis Ramsey.
Edriel Ausley and Gary Sanderson.
"All donations are welcomed ?
small or large," Merle smiled. "It
may be small, but it's a real donation
in terms of our young people."
Truck Crash Near
Clinton Leaves 2 Dead
Two drivers were killed Friday
morning when a tractor-trailer carry
ing $51,000 worth of bacon crashed I
head-on into an empty oil tanker on
, U.S. 421, the N.C. Highway Patrol
reported.
"The truck Was loaded with bacon
and the bacon grease burned like
oil," said Trooper Donald Pridgen.
"They kept the flames down but it
took some time to extinguish the
fire."
Lewis Leonard McKinney of
Lillington and Carmel Ray Byrd of
Wallace apparently died on impact,
Pridgen said. James Lee Purdy Jr. oi
Fuquay-Varina. a passenter in the
tanker rig, was reported in critical
condition at Sampson Memorial
Hospital after witnesses pullad hint
from the wreckage, he added.
Witnesses said Byrd, driving the
truck owned by the Carolina Meat
Processing Inc. of Holly Ridge ir
Onslow County, passed a car and
was in the left lane passing anothei
tractor-trailer when he met McKin
ney's truck at the crest of a hill. Boil
trucks went to the left shoulder and
[ collided, Pridgen said.
William Christopher Williams of
Salemburg, driver of the car Byrd
passed, and Sampson County
Sheriff's Detective Jimmy Mozingo
pulled Purdy from the burning cab.
Herman Stewart of Supply, driver
of the truck Byrd passed, summoned
help.
The funeral services for Byrd were
to be held at the graveside in the
Byrd family cemetery near his home
at Route 2, Wallace.
Local Quiz Bowl Set
The countywide 1985 Quiz Bowl
has been set for Wednesday, Feb. 13
at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at James
Sprunt Technical College. The 1985
Quiz Bowl is sponsored by the
Duplin County Public Library.
The statewide Quiz Bowl began in
1980. It is a program of academic
competition among teams of North
Carolina high school students. This
is the fifth year that Duplin County
has participated.
All four Duplin County high
schools, James Kenan, North
uuplin. East uu^ln and WalUu
Rose Hill, have chosen their teams
and are preparing for the matches.
The winning team will go to the
District Quiz Bowl in March. Every
one is urged to come out and support
their local school team.
devitalization Planned By
Chamber Of Commerce
A downtown revitalization com
mittee is being planned by the
Warsaw Chamber of Commerce.
Forty-five businessmen met last
week to hear Oppie Jordan, down
I town development representative of
the N.C. Department of Commerce,
decry lack of promotion of the town.
"When you come Into Warsaw,
? '?r ? V"" " . B-'
I-""J i..- . even know where down
town is. Supposing I was a person
owning a chain of shoe stores and
coming through Warsaw. Supposing
I wanted to expand and Warsaw
needed a shoe store. What would
stop me and let me know Warsaw
was a fine target for a shoe store?"
she asked the group.
The town's brochure does not
' r *
indicate availability of labor or
buildings, she said. "It was not
designed to make people want to
invest in Warsaw," she said.
Johnson Sheffield, chamber presi
dent, asked people interested in
working "to get Warsaw turned
around" td sign up before leaving
the meeting."
? ? ?>
Duplin County Board Buys
100 Voting Machines
Duplin County will say "goodbye"
to paper ballots in future state,
county and national elections.
The board of commissioners last
week agreed to buy voting machines.
It accepted a bid of $81,075 from
Computer Electronic Systems of
California to provide 100 voting
stations to equip all 20 precincts.
Government Data Systems of
Charlotte bid $89,100 on the project.
The board had asked for bids on
voting equipment during its Jan. 7
meeting.
In other action the board:
? Approved the request of James
Sprunt Technical College President
Carl Price for $60,000 to complete
the funding for an 11,700-square foot
student center scheduled for the
JSTC campus. JSTC has $500,000
from a state construction grant,
$40,000 from a state equipment
grant, $50,000 from its capital re
serve and $50,000 from unbudgeted
reserves for the project.
? Approved the request of Rich
Boyd and Lois Britt for a $10,000
loan to complete the interior of the
Kelly-Farrior house in Kenansville
so the Cowan Museum can be moved
into it.
? Went into secret session but
did not state a reason, as required by
state law.
? Scheduled a public hearing at 7
p.m. Jan. 28 in the commissioners'
room of the courthouse on the Urban
Development Action Grant request
from Carroll's Foods of Warsaw and
Goldsboro Milling Co. of Goldsboro
to help finance a turkey processing
plant being planned for northern
Duplin County.
?? Set April 1 for the start of the
annual series of department budget
hearings.
? Heard a report by Hiram
Brinson, emergency management
director, that 85 percent of the
members of three rescue squads had
been inoculated against hepatitis B.
He said 24 members of the Faison
squad. 28 in Wallace and 29 in
Chinquapin received the shots to
protect them from possible infections
from cuts suffered during rescue
operations. He said some members
were advised not to take shots
because of possible reactions to
medication they are taking.
Kenansville Area Chamber
Of Commerce Banquet
The annual Kenansville Area
Chamber of Commerce membership
banquel is Feb. 5 at the Country
Squire restaurant. Chamber officers
will be installed.
Guest speaker is A1 Calloway,
director of the Division of Business
Assistance of the North Carolina
Department of Commerce, Calloway
has been instrumental in the recruit
ment of industry to the state, said
Woody Brinson, Duplin Develop
ment officer. Brinson will introduce
Callaway and brief Chamber
members on the recruitment efforts
for new industry within Duplin.
Current and prospective members
are urged to attend the banquet
beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 5. Dinner is
$5 per individual.
Officers to be installed include
Gray Morgan as president, Emily
?
Killette as vice-president, and Katie
Brown as treasurer. Members of the
Executive Board include Frank
Quinn, Bert Alabaster, John
Ramerez, Paul Phillips, Charles
Ingram. Emily Killette and Gray
Morgan.
Governor Jim Hunt recently ap
pointed A1 Calloway of Raleigh to
serve as a special representative for
textiles in the state Department of
Commerce. Calloway will work
specifically with the textiles industry
in this new position and will be the
industry's personal contact in st?te
government.
Calloway, 56, previously was
assistant director of the Business
Assistance Division of the state
Department of Commerce.
During the first seven month* t-f.
last year, textile and apparel imports
were up 44 percent over the com
parable period last year. The year
before, those imports were up nearly
70 percent compared to just four
years before. Nationwide from 1980
to 1983. the textile, apparel and fiber
industry has lost 240,000 jobs,
including 27,000 in North Carolina.
Calloway, as assistant director of
the Business Assistance Division
since 1977, has worked closely with
the textile industry helping
companies locate sites for expan
sions and new plants, and working
with them on environmental matters
and on buyer-supplier conference.
He is a native of Cabarrus County,
which is in the heart of the state's
textile industry. His cur..-n' res
p >nsib;1i''e: will bt d' ded mong
oritur staff isterubers.
75 Percent Collected
Duplin Taxpayers Pay Up
Duplin County taxpayers paid 75
percent, or $4,344,849.33, of their
1984 taxes on time, Tax Collector
Norman Sandtin Jr. said.
More than half of the total,
$2,397,271.50, came in during De
cember and the first week of
January, he said. The first week in
January was the last period in which
1984 taxes could be paid without
penalty. A two percent penalty is in
effect for the remainder of January.
Sandlin's department mailed per
sonal and real property tax bills
totaling $5,316,885.93 for 1984.
The overall rate of collection for
the past 10 years is 95.8 percent, he
said. "We hope with our new fore-'
closure process we can up that rate.
We have to use some persuasion on
some people to get them to pay."
Sandlin said it is unfair to people
who pay their taxes to let anyone
"get by without paying."
"I am surprised at how well the
farmers have been paying because of
the low prices of many of their
products," he said.
The uproar about the tobacco pro
gram is building concern for the
future, Sandlin said. The ultimate
fate of the tobacco program will
affect farmland values.
Duplin County's 1984 tax rate was
75 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
Total valuation was $700,910,7%.
The 12 largest taxpayers included
four textile firms, four public utili
ties, one wholesale firm, one pickle
maker and two agricultural enter
prises.
The companies and their tax bills
were: Guilford Mills of Kenansville,
$157,657.66; J.P. Stevens Co. of
Wallace, $145,164.37; National
Spinning Co. of Beulaville and
Warsaw, $120,363.48; Quinn Co. of
Warsaw, $105,001.35; Carolina
Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
$84,690.86; Carolina Power & Light
Co., $82,813.23; Charles F. Cates &
Sons of Faison, $57,772.32; Nash
Johnson & Sons Farms of Rose Hill,
$54,268.22; Reeves Bros, of Kenans
ville, $38,808.18; Four County Elec
trical Membership Corp.,$30,240.86;
and Carroll's Foods of Warsaw,
$30,069.37.
Carol-Ann Tucker To
Speak At Warsaw DSA
The Warsaw Jacyee Distinguished
Service Award banquet will be held
on Thursday. Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at
the Country Squire restaurant.
Ms. Carol-Ann Tucker will be tbe
guest speaker. Originally from
Duplin County. Carol-Ann is an
associate director at the East
Carolina University training center.
She conducts seminars over a 17
county area on subjects such as Drug
and Alcohol Education. Stress
Management, Time Management,
and Building a Better Image.
Carol-Ann was recognized in "Out
standing Young Women of America
1975" and is very active, in com
munity organizations. She released
an album with Jimmy Aycock in June
of 1984, "Our Days, Our Times."
The Jaycees will present awards to
many outstanding young persons
who have given outstanding service I
to the Warsaw community. Cost for
the meal is $9 per person. A small 1
price for a great meal and an enter
taining. supportive evening.
Reservations would be appre- )
ciated but are not mandatory.
Contact one of the following: Ed
Holt of Branch Bank & Trust,
293-7156; Phil Denlinger, 296-19%
or Bill Cttsrin Jr. at 293-7483.
Annual Tobacco Stabilization
District Meeting Feb. 12
Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative
Stabilization Corporation, the
grower-owned cooperative which
administers the price support pro
gram for flue-cured tobacco, has
scheduled its 27th annual district
meeting for North Carolina growers
in District #5.
District #5 includes Duplin, Green,
Harnett, Onslow, Pender, Sampson
and Wayne counties.
F.H. Shackelford Jr. of Hooker
ton, director of the district, and Fred
G. Bond, general manager,
announced that the meeting will be
held in the Hoffler Auditorium at
James Sprunt Technical College in
Kenansville on Tuesday, Feb. 12
beginning at 2 p.m.
The meeting will be important to
flue-cured tobacco growers us well as
to others interested in the tobacco
program. For the past three years
price support loan operations have
been administered under provisions
of the No-Net-Cost legislation. The
impact of this legislation has placed
a financial burden upon the growers.
Under the law, growers must under
write any potential losses through an
annual assessment. The amount of
the assessment each year depends
upon many factors such as the
amount and the initial cost of tobacco
which growers deliver to Stabiliza
tion, prevailing interest rates, and
length of time tobacco remains
unsold. The effects of this legis
lation, along with other related
matters, will be a major part of the
program presented at the meeting.
V
In addition to Stabilization's report
on the 1984 season, reports will be
given by representatives of Tobacco
Associates, Inc.; Tobacco Growers'
Information Committee; DSDA's to
bacco division of Agricultural
Marketing Service; and other allied
organizations and agencies. Ample
time will be provided at the meeting
for discussion.
A brief business session will be
held following the regular program
to select Stabilizations advisory
committee members from each of the
flue-cured tobacco producing
counties in the district.
Shackelford added, "Flue-cured
growers are urged to make every
effort to attend the meeting in order
to get a better understanding of the
cooperative's operations."
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