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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXVIU NO. 6 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 FEBRUARY 7,1985 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Kenansvilie
Dedicates
Town Hall
The town of Kenansvilie held open house and
dedication services for the first town hall in its history.
The services were held February 3 with guest speaker
Congressman Charlie Whitley. Cutting the ribbon to
officially open the town hall were Congressman Whitley
and Miss Liberty Tina Long of Kenansvilie. Among the
special guests were Senator HarMd Hardison. The new
httl fc located on it ** K. *ia<yn rife
and is the former Federal Land Bank building. The
town hall is pictured above. And, right, are the local
queens that were present for the dedication and open
house ceremonies. Pictured, left to right, are Little
Miss Liberty Jennifer Stroud of Kenansvilie and Miss
Liberty Tina Long.
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Arts Fund
i
Drive Opened
The annual fund drive in the
schools for the Duplin County Arts
Council were launched Monday
(Feb. 11) in all schools of the county.
The drive will run one week and
this will precede community and
corporate drives allowing businesses
and individuals associated with
various schools to give their con
tributions through the schools.
Schools collecting the most money
per person will receive a bonus
concert for the spring.
Helping with the drive will be
respective school liaisons, as well as
Board members, student Board
members and volunteers as needed.
"As an incentive to do good work
in telling their families and relatives "
about the work of the Arts Council
and in bringing in special contri
butions. we are having special
rewards for the homerooms that
collect the most money over a $50
minimum," said Merle Creech,
DCAC executive director. "To the
room that is the top collector,
percentagewise, we are offering a
'Red Sneaker' special surprise. And
to the school that collects the most
money percentagewise, we are pro
viding an extra special spring per
formance. We appreciate the com
munity's awareness of the Council
and its good work in the schools."
The fund drive provides the base
funds necessary to provide pro
gramming in the schools and other
county events. Persons having ques
tions or wishing tocontribute may do
so by calling 296-1922 and leaving a
riiessage, or mailing directly to
Duplin County Arts Council, Inc.,
P.O. Box 36, Kenansville. NC 28349.
Registration For
Courses At James
Kenan Next Week
Parents of students planning to
attend James Kenan High School
next year should be aware that
registration for courses will take
place during the weeks of Feb. 11-15
and Feb. 18-22.
Each student has been given a
course offerings guide which in
cludes such information as: detailed
course descriptions, grade levels and
prerequisites; suggested programs
of study; requirementws for gradua
tion; requirements lor prcmot; n;
and requirements for college en
trance.
Guidance Counselor Debbie Smith
will register each student indivi
dually. Each will be required to sign
up for five courses and a study hall or
six courses, along with two alter
nates. Alternates are courses the
student would be willing to take if
their schedule would not work out so
they could take each of their first six
choices.
After registration students will be
given a form to be signed by the
? student AND the parent stating that
?he student has registered for those
cwrses he/she wishes to take, and
noch. ges will be requested.
Parents ami students should be
aware that careful tl" i< snd
planning should be done ii> regis*
tenng fur next year's courses.
Parents are urged to read the Course
Offerings Guide which has been
distributed and to keep it for future
reference.
Any questions or concerns will be
gladly addressed by Debby Smith at
293-4271.
Farm Offices Are Strangely Quiet
| The Duplin County Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation Ser
vice office was virtually devoid of
tobacco customers last week at a
time of year it is ordinarily crowded.
The scene is typical throughout
the tobacco growing area. Farmers
record leases and transfers of
tobacco production quotas and other
information in their county ASCS
offices. The ASCS administers the
tobacco production control program,
a "I expect we have about 30 leases
"and transfers on record now," said
David English, Duplin County ASCS
executive director. "Last year we
had about 300 by this time."
The lack of activity stems from un
certainly over the tobacco program's
future. "Farmers don't know what
the support price will be and they
don'i know how much the assess
ment to Finance the tobacco program
will be on tobacco sold next sum
mer," said J. Michael Moore, Dup
lin County tobacco extension agent.
Tobacco growers don't know
where to turn or what to do, he
added.
"Farmers are totally confused,"
Moore said. "People don't have
enough information at this point to
make decisions intelligently on leas
ing or buying quotas.
"I urge farmers to get into the
process that's going to affect how
ihey make iheir living by joining and
taking pari in (heir commodity or
ganizations' activities.
"Other than that, the only thing
they can do is try to stay informed
and stay in touch with their ASCS
office."
Moore said tobacco program
changes are likely to come and
warned, "The tobacco economy's
likely to be in an uproar. It may mean
many people will not be able to
continue in their accustomed life
style."
English noted that April 15 is the
deadline for leasing and transferring
tobacco production quotas. He ex
pecis a rush ai the ASCS office in the
last few days of the leasing period.
The tobacco legislation requiring
that lease payments be delayed until
the tobacco is sold is also slowing the
leasing process. English said. In
previous years, a grower paid an
owner ai the time he leased the
tobacco quota.
English said more quotas are
being sold than leased now, but that
most sales involve quotas of 2,000
pounds or less.
Duplin is a county of small farms
and small tobacco quotas. The
average quota is 4,506 pounds, about
2.2 acres of allotment, English said
The county has 3,746 tobacco allot
ments and quotas. Last year, 1,602
farms were planted in tobacco, he
added. The county has a 1985
production quota of 16,595,519
pounds from 8,110 acres of allot
ment.
Faircloth Urges Wallace
To Back Industry Group
Former N.C. Commerce Secretary
Lauch Faircloth urged memebers of
the Wallace Chamber of Commerce
to support the newly-formed Wallace
Committee of 100 in its industry
seeking efforts.
Speaking at the annual Wallace
Chamber of Commerce dinner last
week, he also urged the committee to
continue seeking industrial develop
ment sites.
"Your Committee of 100 must
have sites pinned down. You should
begin now to buy land. A good site is
the first thing you have to find when
you are trying to recruit industry,"
Faircloth said
He said the town should consider
hiring an industrial developer to act
as a liaison between the N.C.
Depariment of Commerce, ihe town
and industrial clients.
Faircloth said completion of Inter
state 40, linking Wilmington to the
Piedmont by 1990, would "change
the industrial posture" of Wallace
and Duplin County.
"In the last six years, 78 percent
of the industries that have come to
North Carolina have located in
counties which are touched by an
interstate highway. Industry doesn't
want to locate in a town that is 40 or
50 miles and 38 stoplights from the
nearest interstate," Faircloth said.
Faircloth predicted that South
eastern North Carolina would "enter
the 21st century with a background
of new industry and capability we
never dreamed of."
Lawmakers Oppose Repeal
Of Food And Drug Taxes
Two stale legislators representing
Duplin County have come out
against repeal of the sales tax on
food and drugs.
But they support at least partial
repeal of the intangibles and inven
tories taxes, proceeds of which go to
sthe county and town governments.
" Senator Harold Hardison and
Representative Wendell Murphy
assured members of the Duplin
Municipal Association last week they
would oppose any further state
"mandates to counties and towns"
that failed to provide necessary
funding. The association met in the
Rose Hill Restaurant.
Hardison's 5th district includes
Duplin, Lenoir, Jones and part of
Pender counties. Murphy's 10th dis
trict includes Duplin and Jones
'counties.
(iov. Jim Martin wants to repeal
all three taxes.
The legislators said they doubt the
legislature will repeal the sales tax
on food. They said it is likely to
approve repeal of all or part of the
inventories and intangibles taxes.
Wallace Commissioner Arnold
Duncan, chairman of the association,
expressed the concern of many local
officials that if the taxes are re
) pealed, the legislature might not
replace the lostjnoney.
"We'd be in a bad. situation unless
you made up the money," he said.
Hardlson told thp group that while
he opposes repeal of the tax on food
and drugs, he favors repeal of the
intangibles tax on money on deposit.
He said he favors some form of
inventory lax repeal.
"I can'i be lied down on that just
yet. Things have to be worked out,"
he said.
Murphy said he supports repeal of
ihe inventory tax "at all levels and
repeal of the intangibles tax on
money on deposit." He said he
opposed repeal of the lax on food and
drugs.
"If there is any way to change the
method of distribution of the one
cent local option sales tax from point
of collection to a population basis I'll
fight for it," Murphy said.
Counties such as Duplin would
mnvc a laigci snare or me one
cent lax if ii were distributed on a
population basis, Murphy said.
The total inventory tax for Duplin
County amounts to an estimated
$490,387 annually with the manu
facturing inventory portion amount
ing to $234,687. Duplin County
towns divide $152,000 from the total
inventories tax with the manufac
turing inventories portion amounting
to $57,156.
The county receives about
$140,000 annually from the intangi
bles tax.
Officials from Duplin County and
the town told the legislators they
want the sales tax left on food and
drugs. They favor repeal of the other
two taxes as long as the lost money is
replaced. They plan to send reso
lutions to this effect to the legis
lators.
"Resolutions won't hurt," Hardi
son said. "It always helps to have
something (resolutions) in your back
pocket."
Hardison told the group, "We're
not going to send down any man
dates to local governments without
funding. The message we get is
cities and local governments can't
stand any more costs without more
money."
But he said, "There's going to be
a concerted effort from the Governor
Martin people for repeal."
"The real thing for us will be to
figure out how to replace the lost
funds," Hardison added.
Rally
Janice M. Johnson, NAACP
national membership director, of
Brooklyn, N.Y., will keynote the 74th
NAACP birthday rally at the West
Hill First Baptist Church in Warsaw
on Sunday, Feb. 10. The meeting is
scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and will
culminate the 1985 membership
drive.
United States National Achiavamont Winners
Three students at E.E. Smith Jr. High in Kenansville
have been selected as United States National Award
Winners for 1984-85. The English awards are made
through recommendation by local teachers through the
Academy. Each year the selection is based on academic
performance. interest .And ADtitude, leadership
qualities, responsibility, enthusiasm, motivation to
learn and improve citizenship, attitude and cooperative
spi^and dependability. The students were nominated
through ine Academy by E.E. Smith English teacher
Zeltie Williams. Pictured above. E.E. Smith Principal
J.G. Henry congratulates the student winners, left to
1 right, J.G. Henry, Donna Hall, Gigi Ammar and
Carolyn Wilson. Donna Hall is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. William Hall of Magnolia. Gigi Ammar is the
daughter of Dr. and Mrs. M.I. Ammar of Kenansville.
Carolyn is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Snodie Wilson
irf Kenansville. >