? Son
w of a
Gun
by Joe Lanier
Justice, it seems, is like beauty. It
is. in the eyes of the beholder. The
Melvin Williams trial lasted for
seven days. A jury out of Onslow
County found him guilty of having
Paul Osik burn his Pink Hill home
and then collect S43.490 insurance,
The judge, Mary McLaughton Pope,
a James Hunt appointee, sentenced
him to not more than two years and
not less than two years on the charge
of fraudulently burning a dwelling,
and on the other two felony charges
she did the same for one year to
begin at the expiration of the
Jwo-year term. In sentencing, when
Z a judge says "not more than and not
2 less than" it means the person being
- sentenced is immediately eligible for
1 parole. The judge did not in her
Z sentencing say Williams had to make
- restitution to the insurance com
pany. Thus if the insurance company
Z wants its money back, that was
2 fraudulently received, they must sue
- Williams in a civil court. The judge
- also recommended work release
1 immediately. The case was ap
- pealed and Williams was released
after one day in jail under a bond of
Z $30,000. The day or night he spent in
3 jail was the night he was found guilty
- and the day before sentencing.
Now for the justice part. . .There
Z are two views. . .Some say he was
? sentenced too strongly, as he was not
- guilty. . .Others say it was a mockery
Z of justice, and he was judged on
Z politics rather than law ? that a
- person convicted of stealing a $50
- hog gets more time, and it active,
2 than he received for burning a home
" and receiving $43,490 and not even
- having to pay it back. Others say his
1 being convicted t>f three felonies will
* keep him out of politics and that is
? punishment enough. There are even
- those who say the jury didn't know
: what it was doing.
My opinion?. . .He was found
guilty by a jury, found guilty on the
evidence presented by the assistant
district attorney. Williams' three
? ; lawyers were unable to put sufficient
- doubt in the jury's minds to cause
- them to find him not guilty. The
Z judge, in my opinion, was too
* lenient; restitution should have been
- made and at least six months active
- sentence should have been imposed.
~ . .Williams is not the first to get off
2 too lightly, in my opinion. The
- attorney in Mount Olive, George
Kornegay, who was convicted of
Z spending his clients' money, is on
" work release working in his law
- office. This is not the first, and
- surely won't be the last. The system
T will not correct itself from the inside.
Z , .1 am not saying Williams is guilty
2 or innocent. 1 am simply saying he
- was found guilty by a jury and should
- have been punished along those
Z same lines. , .He should have
2 received the same sentence that the
- average John Doe off the street
* would have gotten ? no more, no
I less.
*****
A funny thing happened on the
- way to work today. . .The county
I commissioners are combining the tax
; collection office and the tax listing
- office to save money. . .Well, what is
- so funny about that, you are prob
I ably wondering. . .Sounds like a fine
; idea. . .Been needed for quite a
- while. . .Well, under their reorgani
I zation plan, rather than a tax
I collector and a tax supervisor, they
; are proposing a tax administrator
- and a deputy tax administrator. .
Z .The present tax collector is paid
~ $19,131"^ year; the tax supervisor is
- paid $21,860. The tax supervisor is
?? also the Veterans Service Officer,
: but not under the new plan. . .Under
- the new plan, the tax administrator
- _will be paid between $20,888 and
. $27,620. The tax administrator
deputy will be paid between $16,016
* and $20,888. . .Now, the two salary
" ranges are about the same. There is
surely no money saving here. . .But
wait, what about the new position,
? the Veterans Service Officer ? a
.- part-time position paying $5.25 an
hour for 24 hours a week, three days.
C . Thai amounts to $6,564.48 if this
'2 person works only those three days a
week. . .That does not include a new
- office and utilities. . .And, of course,
this' person will have to go to a
convention some place. . .Hey, the
commissioners are going to save us
some more money in July. They are
; going to Orlando, Florida to a
convention. They will, of course,
take the higher-paid help with them,
I all paid for by tax money. . .If they
; don't stop saving us money like this,
we may go broke. . .Not them. .
They are spending tax money. . .We
have to spend wages. . .Now, don't
you think that is funny?. .
Son-of-a-Gun....
rr^hows your
lhhead for
.^safety?
Q. My neighbor recently saw a
mound on our lawn and told me it
could be fire ants. Are they danger
ous...and if so, how do I get rid of
them?
A. They are dangerous and you
can get rid of them. Experts report
where?on lawns, gardens, parka,
athletic fields, range and farm
lands. Persons or animals found al
lergic to fire ant bites suffer severe
symptoms that include difficult
breathing, chest pains, nausea,
hives and sometimes death. Any
one bitten, whether allergic or not,
will receive a burning, itchy sore or
welt.
The most effective way to get rid
of a fire ant mound is to kill the
queen. This is done by using a bait
that gets into the food chain. The
death of the queen signals the end
of the mound.
Pink Hill
Town Board
Meets
Kenneth Hamilton appeared be
fore the Pink Hill board with a plea
for assistance concerning his dis
missal from the Pink Hill Fire
Department.
Carol Sykes, town clerk, reported
that she had received an estimate of
S241.92 from Alphin Exterminating
Co. for a job that was to include
spraying the town hall. Upon discus
sion from the board, the group
decided to handle the job
themselves.
John Smith, C.P.A., was rehired
to do the town audit for the coming
year.
A letter was read from Jimmy
Miles, son of the late Louise Miles.
Mr. Miles serves as an attorney in
Raleigh. The letter was in regard to a
lease contract currently held be
tween the Pink Hill Airport and the
late Mrs. Miles, owner of the airport
property. The current lease will
members are interested tn obtaining
a long-term lease in the future._
Fire Chief Preston Bryant
appeared concerning the recent dis
missal of Kenneth Hamilton, a Pink'
Hill fireman. The discussion was
tabled until the next meeting.
Deputy Richard Stroud was
present from the Lenoir County
Sheriffs Department showing an
interest in purchasing a radio, sirend
and blue light. The board agreed to
sell the used equipment to the
county for $800.
The budget for the new year was
discussed briefly.
: DUPLIN TIMES-PROGRESS
SENTINEL
Published Weekly by
DUPLIN PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Ike Rlddick, Publisher
P.O. Box 68
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