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PROGRESS SENTINEL
^ VOL JOgytyinNQA 26USPS 162-860 KENANSV1LLE. NC 28349 JUNE 27. 1985 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TA
? EMC Youth Tourists Visit Washington
Four high school students representing Four County
Electric Membership Corporation, Burgaw, prepare to
leave Raleigh for a week-long visit to Washington, D.C.
as part of North Carolina's 1985 Rural Electric Youth
Tour. They are, from the left, Sassy Newkirk, Route 1,
Willard; Wendy Pait, Route 2, Bladenboro; Claudette
Hayes, Route 1, Atkinson; and Marty Futrell, Route 1,
Wallace. A total of 37 youths were selected to
participate in the tour through contests sponsored by
various EMCs across the state. The Tar Hell group
joined about 1,000 young people throughout the
country for various programs in the nation's capital.
While on the tour, the group visited members <k the
N.C. congressional delegation, various government
agencies, the Smithsonian Institution museums, Ar
lington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the White
House and other points of interest.
Wallace Water-Sewer
Bills To Increase
V ^ %
Wallace residents will pay the
same 70 cents per $100 assessed
valuation property tax this year but
will pay more for water and sewer
|f service starting July 1.
The town board adopted the
1985-86 budget Thursday night. It
provides a five percent pay increase
for town employees, money for
completing a well project and money
to buy several vehicles.
The general fund totals $1,000,921
an increase of $75,144 from the
1984-85 budget.
With the new sewage treatment
plant in operatiqn and a new well
> project under way, the budget
provides $781,752 for water, sewer
and non-departmental expenditures
compated with $625,841 last year.
The base rate for the 90 percent of
the town's residences that have
three-quartet-'nch meters will be
$9.27 per month. That does not
"nclude water or sewer gallonage.
Residents will pay 19 cents per 1,000
g Jlons for water and 45 cents per
1,000 gallons for sewer, a total of 64
cents per 1,000 gallons for town
utilities.
The old rate was $7.20 for use of
3,000 gallons. A customer using
3,000 gallons of water now will pay
$11.19, an increase of $3.99 per
month. A user of 5,000 gallons of
water will pay $1.79 per month more
under the new schedule. i
The town's largest industrial
water customer, J.P. Stevens Co.,
will be billed a minimum of $20,800 a
month for a minimum of 80 million
gallons of water. The additional i
charge will be 26 cents per 1,000
gallons. The company paid the town
about $250,000 last year for water. !
Water fees are expected to bring i
in $365,000 and sewer fees, '?
$120,000. In addition to the fees, the '
water a.id sewer budget includes ?
$257,452 from capital reserve and ?
retained earnings. j
The new rate structure is being I
established to meet government re- '?
quirements that the system he self- <
sustaining and provide repair and I
replacement funds.
The new budget provides $350,765 !
for completion of the well project i
near Tin City, $21,000 for a garbage t
truck container body, $14,000 for 1
new pickup trucks, $11,000 for two !
used police cars, $5,000 for the I
community gymnasium fund, $6,000
for tennis court repairs in Clement j
Street Park, $15,000 into a computer
reserve fund and $2,400 for three <
dumps ters.
Major general fund items are
$270,343 for police, $136,816 for
streets from town's share of state
gasoline taxes and $63,550 from
town funds for streets, $107,462 for
sanitation. $78,480 for recreation,
$57,925 for the library, $76,475 for
non-departmental expenses and
$66,675 for administration.
General fund revenue includes
$350,000 from current property taxes
and $16,725 from prior year taxes,
$86,000 from refuse collection fees.
$82,000 from revenue sharing,
$68,000 from utility franchise taxes,
$63,200 from the state's allocation of
gasoline tax money, $67,300 from
the one-cent local option sales tax.
$32,800 from the half-cent local
sption sales tax, $39,600 from Alco
holic Beverage Control store profits,
$11,600 from beer and wine taxes,
$20,000 from water and sewer ad
ministration fees, $13,000 from in
tangible taxes, $2,900 from recrea
tion fees, $47,846 from the water and
sewer fund and $37,000 from fund
)alan?.es.
The assessed valuation of taxable
property int he town is $53,781,613.
The budget is based on a property
ax colleaSta rate of 93 percent.
Livestock Theft Bill Heads
To Senate Committee
A House of Representatives bill to c
reduce livestock theft in North s
Carolina will be taken up by the
Senate committee on agriculture, a I
clerk in the office of committee ?
chairman Sen. James Speed said.
The bill was introduced in the v
House last month by Representative c
Wendell Murphy. Murphy had in- ?
troduced a companion bill to apply to
| grain dealers. He withdrew it, saying r
that he might try to have the Senate 1
combine it with the livestock bill and
another bill that would require im
mediate reporting of the theft of
agricultural products.
The livestock bill would require
livestock dealers to show the amount
of money paid for livestock; to record
the license number of any vehicle
used to deliver livestock to market;
to demand and record identification
from people selling livestock; to keep s
? permanent recordr instead of keep- c
ing them for just one year; and to
post prominent signs stating "Our a
records are inspected by the l
sheriff."
Murphy said livestock and grain r
thievery has become a major prob- c
lem, particularly in eastern North j
Carolina. He said thieves usually j
transport stolen animals or grain
some distance before selling them. v
If potential thieves know that the p
recorded identification is readily
available to law enforcement per- c
sonnel, they may be discouraged I
from stealing grain and livestock in s
the first place. Murphy said. c
Afhe proposed requirements would t
make it easier for law enforcement t
jfficers to trace thieves and the
itolen items, he added.
Murphy said his main intent,
lowever, is to reduce the number
ind amount of such thefts.
The livestock bill. House Bill 1153,
vas referred to the Senate agri
ulture committee following
ipproval by the House.
The committee gave a favorable
eport to a farm machinery bill, HB
r62, that had been introduced in the
House by Rep. E. David Redwine of
Brunswick. The bill had been re
ferred to the committee upon its
arrival in the Senate after passage in
the House.
The Redwine bill would require
franchisers to repurchase inventory
from dealers upon termination of a
contract.
The bill passed its second reading
in the full Senate and is scheduled
for a third reading.
Offices To Be Combined
For Tax Services
The offices of Duplin County tax
upervisor and tax collector will be
ombined in the coming fiscal year.
The board of commissioners
greed to the change in adopting its
985-86 budget.
The veteran's service office will be
emoved from the tax supervisor's
iffice. Tax supervisor Frank T.
doore has held that as a part-time
ob.
The tax administrator's position
vill pay $27,620 and the deputy's
(osttion, $20,888 per year.
Tom Howell of Rivers & Asso
iates, engineers, and James H.
'arker Jr., chairman of the Albert
ion Sewer and Water District,
liscussed water quality problems
tnd said individual water bills may
>e higher than the estimated $12 to
$16 per ru^nth for the first 2,000
gallons of water.
Excessive manganese and iron in
the water, they said, will require
additional treatment facilities cost
ing $50,000 to $100,000 and addi
tional maintenance. This may delay
completion from the December 21
anticipated ate.
The original cost estimate was
$1,325,000.
The board decided to insure the
former C.W. Dobbins school at
Wallace for $300,000. It plans to
offer the building for sale in January.
Because some board members
may attend the National Association
otf County Commissioners meeting in
mid-July in Orlando, Fia., the
second July meeting date was movetk
from July 15to9a.m. July 22.
Duplin Board Votes
To Close A School
After a public hearing last week,
the Duplin County Board of Educa
tion decided to close the North
Duplin Junior High School on N.C.
403 west of Faison and transfer the
students to the North Duplin High
School campus, starting this fall.
About 40 residents of the district
attended the hearing, with many
expressing opposition to or support
of the step.
Superintendent L.S. Guy said 164
seventh and eighth grade students
attended the school ? 77 seventh
graders and 87 eighth graders ?
during the 1984-85 school year.
Guy said projections show enroll
ment in those two grades dropping to
88 by 1992, with 43 in the seventh
grade and 45 in the eighth. The
district's population is declining, he
said.
The building is in good condition.
For short-term use it needs roof
repairs estimated at S3,000 to
$5,000. For long-term use it needs a
new roof, estimated to cost $38,000.
The building was designed for 350
to 370 students. The superintendent
said using it at the present atten
dance is uneconomic. Even through
half or less of the building might be
needed, it all must be heated, he
said.
Guy conceded that having the
seventh and eighth graders on the
high school campus near Calypso "is
not an ideal situation."
He said the junior high school
students will be separated as much
as possible from the older students.
Answering a question by Kent
Southerland about possible lunch
problems, Guy said the lunches for
the junior high school have been
prepared in the North Duplin High
School kitchen and transported .by
van to the' smaller school. The
transfer of students won'r create any
special burden on the lunch pro
gram, he said.
The closing will reduce school bus
traffic across the county's busiest
highway, U.S. 117, which should
reduce chances of bus accidents, he
said.
"I support it and can see the
saving," said Paul Rose, a district
parent.
Southerland asked if any money
saved could be used to improve
education.
Guy said there would be some
savings. He said the combined
enrollment of 450 students will be
enough for the school to rate a
state-paid assistant principal for the
junior high grades.
Two modular classrooms are being
moved to the high school campus for
the seventh and eighth grades.
Wilma Jones, a parent in the
district, asked if the modular units
were to be permanent. Guy said the
long-range plan calls for a $300,000
expansion of the school.
Linda Beavers, another parent
from the district, said she doesn't
like mingling the younger children
with the high school students and
she doesn't like the modular units.
"I'd just as soon my child be in a
pasteboard box," she said. "The
modular units are not safe."
Randy Holland, also a parent,
opposed mobile units as unsafe and
tacky in appearance.
School Board
Blasts Budget Cuts
Duplin school board members and
administrators, bitterly disappointed
over the county commissioners'
severe slash in the school system's
budget request, called a special
meeting to discuss the matter.
Board member Amos Bnnson of
Kenansville said the board should go
back to the county commissioners
and ask for at least enough money to
cover the proposed 10 percent pay
increases for county-paid school
employees. The board anticipates
that the state will provide a 10
percent increase for the school
employees paid by the state. Brinson
made the suggestion last week fol
lowing a public hearing on closing
North Duplin Junior High School.
Superintendent L.S. Guy told the
board: "I don't know weal 1 should
do. Cry, 1 guess. Disappointment is
an understatement. We asked (the
county commissioners) for
S2,810.422 in current expense. Yes
terday afternoon the county manager
called and said we got S2,173.500.
That's $600,000 short of our re
quest."
Guy noted that the school budget
asked for $426,574 for capital outlay.
1 he commissioners cut the request
by $79,849 and provided $346,725.
The commissioners restricted use
of the capital reserve fund of just
over $1 million to construction at
James Kenan High School, Guy said.
Guy said the school request in
cluded $154,000 in pay increases for
the county-paid school employees.
The 3.5 percent increase the com
missioners allowed in the school
budget provided only $73,549. This
amount covers less than half the pay
increase alone, he added.
Brinson followed Guy's statement
with the comment that the board
should go back to the commissioners
and ask for more money.
The board planned to discuss its
next moves and to rework its budget
in a meeting in the system head
quarters m Kenansvilte this week.
The -ISrwol board's original re- .
quest to the couhty included an
increase of about $600,000 from its
1984-85 current expense budget.
Its requested increase was equiva
lent to 9.6 cents per $100 assessed
property valuation, or $48 a year
more on property valued at $50,000.
The county tax rate is 75 cents per
$100.
Warsaw Board Maintains
73' Tax Rate
Warsaw's tax rate of 73 cents per
$100 assessed valuation will remain
the same in the 1985-86 fiscal year,
the town board decided last week as
it approved the year's budget.
It approved spending $738,411 for
the fiscal year beginning July 1 and
continuing through June 30, 1986.
The total is $44,800 greater than the
current budget of $693,611.
Included is a five percent pay
increase for town employees, which
is expected to cost $20,000. Also
included in the new budget is
$11,000 on a lease option for a
backhoe, $11.300 for a police car and
$2,500 for a flatbed truck for the
?
Police Department.
Water, sewer and garbage fees
will remain the same with the
minimum charge $16,30 per month
for 4,000 gallons of water.
Some of the major revenue
amounts and sources are: $250,000
from property taxes, $49,000 in
utility and franchise taxes, $53,000
in state Powell Bill allocation for
streets, $90,000 from local-option
sales tax. $50,000 in garbage collec
tion fees, $83,000 from revenue
sharing and $20,000 from the utility
fund.
Town employee salaries, including
those of the self-supporting Utility
Department, will amount to about
$425,000.
The budget includes $196,273 for
law enforcement, including the
$11,300 for a police car and the pay
increase. It includes $125,624 for the
Street Department, $79,191 for ad
ministration. $67,528 for sanitation
and $33,815 for the Recreation
Department.
The untilities budget totals slight
ly more than $300,585, with provi
sion for $68,145 in salaries and
wages and $93,000 for payment of
bond interest and principal. Utility
Department income for the current
fiscal year is estimated at almost
$305,000.
Aeromedical Service Cuts
High Risk Time By Half
The East Care emergency aero
medical service based at Pitt Memo
rial Hospital will cut high risk time in
half on a trip from Duplin General in
Kenansville.
Even through the aeromedical
service transports to any medical
facility from any location in the East
Care area, emergency transfer from
Duplin General Hospital to Pitt
Memorial will be cut in half with the
use of the helicopter.
"There is about 18-22 minutes
flight time to Duplin General Hos
pital," Duplin Director of Emer
gency Services Hiram Brinson said.
"With the use of the service the
patient is not out of the emergency
room or intensive care unit in the
hospital but about 25 minutes before
being in another medical facility.
Transport by ambulance takes at
least an hour from Duplin General to
Pitt Memorial.
"It costs about double an ambu
lance trip, but the helicopter cuts the
high risk time in half," Brinson said.
"The equipment in the helicopter is
the same as we (Duplin Emergency
Services) have in an ambulance,
except on the helicopter some of the
equipment is a little more ad
vanced." Brinson pointed out the
service is available to assist Emer
gency Services teams in the East
Care area and can be contacted
directly by radio.
The East Care teams consist of a
pilot and two flight nurses on each
trip. The helicopter is designed to
transport one patient, but can be
adapted to carry a second victim. In
flight the team is in constant
communication with physicians and
emergency personnel at Pitt
Memorial Hospital.
The flight team is trained to react
quickly in emergency situations of
any type. Patients of any type can be
properly cared for by the team.
Currently the team is undergoing
training in the area of obstetrics and
preneonatal care. Each member of
the team has completed a 10-week
extensive training course under the
supervision of the Pitt Memorial
Hospital emergency Department and
the East Carolina Medical School.
East Care Right Nurse Cindy Raiser,
R.N. pointed out the team is trained
to react beyond the normal function
of a licensed nurse'.
During the June 11 public showing
of the East Care helicopter at Duplin
General Hospital, Raiser explained
the team had responded to 84 calls
since April 8 when the service began
operation. The service area of East
Care extends into 34 counties and
over a 120-mile radius. Calls to
on-site emergencies by the East Care
team has a service area of only 40
miles. Each call requires about a
five-minute lift-off time. Among the
calls East Care has serviced include
trips to transport patients from
Duplin General Hospital to other
medical facilities.
The East Care service has been in
the planning stages since 1982 and
began as a project spearheaded by
the Neuse River Council of Govern
ments, Duplin Emergency Services
Director Hiram Brinson explained.
Working with the Council of Govern
ments to establish the service was
the East Carolina Emergency
Medical Services, which represents
29 of the counties in the down east
area, including Duplin, and the Pitt
Memorial Hospital Emergency De
partment and the East CJttoHaa
Medical School.