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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXVI11 NO. 27 USPS 162-860 KENANSV1LLE. NC 28349 JULY 4,1985 14 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Attends Institute
I Two Duplin County students, Sabrina Grady of Seven
* Springs and Samuel Whaley of Beulaville, attended the
Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders, June 23-28 at
North Carolina State University. The Institute was
designed to introduce high school seniors to career
opportunities in agriculture and life sciences and to
develop leadership skills. It was sponsored by the
Agricultural Education Program at NCSU and the North
Carolina Farm Bureau Federation. Shown with Grady,
second from left, and Whaley are Dr. Larry Jewell, left,
coordinator of the Agricultural Education Program, and
W.B. Jenkins, president of the Farm Bureau Federa
tion. Grady, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grady,
and Whaley, son of Susie G. Whaley, were among 37
students from 31 counties attending the lnstitutue.
Duplin Crops Suffer
From Draught Conditions
Corn and tobacco are thought to be
(he most severly damaged crops due
to the draught conditions in the
eisinty accowVng Jo agents ^ the
Dupfin Agricultural Extension (Office
| in Kenansville.
Whrlc all areas of Duplin County
are feeling the affects of the lack of
rain, the extension office pointed out
the most severe crop damage is in
the northern perimeter. Areas of the
northern perimeter are Faison, Ron
es Chapel. Albertson and Pink Hill
Communities.
"Currently the corn crop is ex
pected to be reduced by a third from
last year's yeild," Duplin Agricultur
) al Extension Agent J. Michael
Moore said. "And, every day the
northern perimeter area goes with
out rain the crops are reduced even
farther.
"The rest of the county is fairly
normal at this point," Moore said.
"The affects of the draught can be
seen in those area crops, but not like
those in the northern perimeter."
Duplin averaged 85 bushels per acre
of corn in the 1984 season. Moore
i
estimated 65,000 acres of corn have
been planted in Duplin this year.
"Tobacco was in fair shape until
last week.'^Moore said "With the
hot sun add dry conditions the
tobacco crop is falling behind every
day. Fields with flowering tobacco
plants, at this point, can expect to
lose 30 pounds per acre a day."
Some of the worst affects of the
draught on the tobacco crop has been
the increased activity of disease,
Moore explained. The diseases black
shank, eranville wilt and mosaic
thrive in the dryer weather. And,
according to Moore, disease has
damaged the crop as much or more
than the current dry conditions.
Information on the treatment and
types of tobacco diseases can be
obtained through the Duplin Exten
sion Office. Moore emphasized the
need to include oreventive disease
measures in next year's farming
plans because no chemical controls
are available for black shank, gran
ville wilt or mosaic.
Duplin has an estimated 8.110
acres of tobacco planted this season.
And, Moore pointed out rain within
the first week of this month would
result in the potential for a good
tobacco crop in Duplin. Rain within
this week is also needed to produce a
pepper crop in Duplin and set
blueberry buds for next year's crop.
"I don't know of anything (crop)
that has not been affected by the lack
of rain," Duplin Agricultural Exten
sion Agent Phil Denlinger said.
"Rain is critical this week to the
pepper crop. Pepper plants are
trying to put on pods and need rain
for the pollination process to begin.
"The cucumber crop was a little
short overall this season." Denlinger
said. "But that was due to low
market prices as much as the dry
weather. And, squash was the same,
affected more by low prices than the
lack of rain."
Rain this week is also critical for
Duplin's 1986 blueberries. Denlinger
pointed out. Duplin has 500 acres of
blueberries and this season a late
freeze resulted in the loss of as much
as 85 percent of the crop. The county
had just recorded a record yeild in
bluebe ries during 1984 with the
production of 1.7 million pints.
Stevens Puts Textiles
Plants Up For Sale
, J.P. Stevens & Co. Inc. announced
? Thursday that about one-fourth of
the company's holdincs. including
its two Wallace plants, are for sale.
The sale list includes 18 apparel
plants in four states. The plants
employ 7,500 workersN
The Stevco Knit Fabrics units,
which include the Carter and Holly
plants in Wallace along with plants
in Fayetteville, Greensboro and Gas
tonia, are on the sale list. The
company has recently retooled the
L Wallace plants. The plants employ
1,232 people.
The company said the move was
designed to "reduce the exposure"
of the company to cheap foreign
imnortc
If the textile giant finds buyers of
the plants it will be almost totally out
of the apparel-making business,
Chairman Whitney Stevens said
Thursday in Greenville.
The company is selling four div
isions: Delta Fabrics, which has six
^ plants in South Carolina; Woolen
and Worsted Fabrics, which has five
plants in Georgia; United Elastic
Fabrics, which has two plants in
Virginia; and Stevco Knit Fabrics,
which has five plants in North
Carolina.
Tbe sale "would represent a very
considerable reduction in the size of
tlie company," Stevens said at a
news cotrference.
Stevens, the nation's second larg
est publicly held textile company,
* has manufacturing headquarters in
Greenville.
"The whole import issue has had a
lot to do tfith the decision we are
making here," Stevens said. "This
will greatly reduce the exposure of
this company to imports."
If Stevens sells the apparel plants,
the company will concentrate on
manufacturing towels, sheets, bed
room accessories, carpets, industrial
fabrics, auto products and elastic
products.
Stevens said he will know within
six months if there is interest in the
plants.
Each division will be sold as a unit.
The investment banking firm of
Goldman, Sachs & Co. has been
hired to help with the sale.
There already have been "some
unsolicited expressions of interest,"
The estimated sales in 1985 of the
four divisions is $487 million of
Stevens' total estimated sales of $2.1
billion, company spokesman Ron
Copsey sai<l.
As a whole, the four businesses
are "breaking even," Stevens said.
"If they are not sold, we will
continue to operate them," Stevens
said. "They will not be closed."
Stevens will not sell its Fine Goods
division, which makes shirts for men
and women at two plants near
Newberry, S.C. and Rockingham,
N.C.' The Fine Goods division is the
only other apparel-making division
in the company.
In the first six months of the year,
Stevens announced closings and
consolidations that claimed the jobs
of about 1,500 workers.
Last week, Stevens declared a
quarterly dividend of 30 cents per
share on its common stock. Analysts
predicted earlier this year that
because of cash-flow problems,
Stevens would have to cut the
dividend to 15 cents this year.
in us mosi recent financial report,
the company said it lost $4.8 million,
or 28 cents per share, in the second
quarter of 1985. Sales were down 14
percent over the same period last
year.
Stevens employs more than 5,500
people in Greenville County and
15,000 in the state. The company has
about 32.000 employees nationwide.
Y JJ LOVING AMIIICANSjj-,4 ST V
*
Duplin School Board Is
Asking For *69,099 More
The Duplin County Board of
Education will ask the County Com
missioners Monday to restore
$69,099 of the $551,922 they slashed
from the school system's 1985-86
budget request.
The school board took the action
Tuesday night after a long discussion
of the amount to be requested and
what should be cut out of the
request.
The vote to go before the commis
sioners Monday was 3-1 with Wil
liam Richards of Wallace opposing.
Voting for the move were James F.
Strickland of Warsaw, Amos "Doc"
Brinson of Kenansville and Carl Pate
of Beulaville, board chairman. Joe
Swinson of northern Duplin County
was absent.
The board approved an interim
budget of $2,762,983 for current
expenses, the amount the commis
sioners approved earlier this month.
The approved operating budget is
$79,568 more than the 1984-85
budget, with $73,500 coming from
county tax funds. One cent of county
property tax brings in about $67,000.
The school system had asked for
$3,314,905 fi* current expenses.
Superintendent L.S. Guy said that
after making all possible cuts the
school system needs $69,099 more
from the county. Otherwise, he said,
programs would have to be cut and
state matching funds lost.
Included in the $69,099 are
$10,050 for alternative learning
centers; a local match for $88,605 for
the in-school suspension program,
which employs five teachers; $7,500
to the Duplin Arts Council for arts in
the schools; $20,585 for local teach
ers; and $30,964 for -the Junior
Reserve Officers Training Corps
program at East Duplin High School
in Beulaville.
Brinson questioned the money for
the junior ROTC. Guy said the
money was not in the interim
budget.
Brinson moved to ask the commis
sioners for an additional $38,135 for
current expenses and 56,035 for
capital outlay. Richards seconded
the motion. When no other member
joined in supporting the motion, it
died.
Brinson said the board had cut out
things affection the whole county,
and the ROTC program affected only
one school in one part of the county.
"I'd be all for it if it applied to all
fwir high schools," he said.
Guy said loss of the ROTC
program "woujd take us back tw?o
years." The program is two years
old. School systems must pay part of
the ROTC instructors' salaries. The
Army pays the balance.
Strickland defended the ROTC
program, saying. "I'm strongly for
it."
Said Richards: "I think ROTC is a
good program but for S31.000 I just
don't know. If you put that in arts or
computers you help the whole
county. I just can't Vote for ROTC."
Brinson finally said, "If no one
changes his mind we won't go to the
commissioners and ask for anything.
If we don't go Monday and ask for it
(the money) there's no need ever to
go
Strickland again moved to ask for
an additional $69,099. This time the
motion carried 3-1.
Pate is to appear before the
commissioners at about 11 a.m.
Monday.
Carol Ann Tucker
Featured As
Opening Night
Entertainment
The Liberty Cart welcomes Duplin
recording artist and area native.
Carol Ann Tucker, as pre-show
entertainment for the opening night
of the 10th season of he outdoor
drama in Kenansville. Julv 12.
The Liberty Cart opens its 10th
season with the traditional supper
in-the-pines, July 12 at the William
R. Kenan, Jr. Memorial Amphi
theatre. Supper-in-the-pines begins
at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by the
performance of Carol Tucker on the
stage of the amphithef- it 7:30_
The opening night performance of
the historical outdoor drama. The
Liberty Cart, begins at 8:15.
Carol Ann Tucker
Carol Ann is returning lor a
second performance as pre-show
entertainment tor 1 he Liberty Cart.
Just weeks after the release of her
first album, entitled "Our Days, Our
Times," last summer Carol Ann
made her first appearance on the
stage of the William R. Kenan, Jr.
Memorial Amphitheatre. The album
was a joint release by Carol Ano and
Jim Aycock of Fremont. Jim is a
former music instructor in Duplin
County schools where he first work
ed with Carol Ann as his student.
CurieniK the album is in its third
printing featuring Jim on the piano
arid vocals by Carol Ann.
In addition to a recording and
entertainment career, Carol Ann
maintains a full-time postion at East
Carolina University in Greenville.
Carol Ann currently resides in
Greenville where she is the Director
of the ECU Regional Training Cen
ter. As a member of the Center,
Carol Ann conducts seminars in 32
down cast counties with public
school teachers counseling on drug
and alcohol education, stress and
time mangement, and positive self
image development.
The Liberty Cart plans an extra
special summer as the outdoor
drama celebrates its 10 year an
niversary. The celebration will begin
opening night with supper-in-the
pines followed by pre-show enter
tainment featuring Carol Ann
Tucker, and the season's first per
formance of Randolph Umberger's
outdoor drama, The Liberty Cart.
"For the comfort of our audience,
we are pleased to announce the
completion of the seating project at
the amphitheatre," The Liberty Cart
General Manager Jim Johnson said.
"More than 90 percent of the
amphitheatre has been filled with
new stadium style seating. Each seat
will be complete with form fitting
bottoms and backs and arms."
The Liberty Cart outdoor drama
about the development of eastern
North Carolina during colonial and
civil war times opens Julyl2 playing
each Thursday, Friday and Saturday
evening through August 24. Group
rates are available on show tickets,
and the Liberty Tour which includes
a tour of historic Kenansville and
Liberty Hall or the Cowan Museum,
along with dinner and a performance
of the outdoor drama. Tickets may be
reserved and tours must be booked
in advance through The Liberty Cart
office, P.O. Box 470, Kenansville,
NC 28349 or phone 296-0721. Shows
begin at 8:15 p.m.
More Jalisco Mexican
Cheese Products Recalled
Three more cheese products have
been included in the Jalisco Mexican
Products cheese recall.
The products, Crema, Crema Mex
icana, and Jocoque are similar ip
appearance and consistency to sour
cream. Crema and Crema Mexicana
are paced in glass jars, and Jocoque
is packed in a cottage cheese-type
container. These products may be
displayed separately from other
cheese products, and may be found
in the cottage cheese/sour cream
refrigerated sections of stores.
Ti^se products may be contam
inated with a potentially lethal an
bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes. no
This bacteria causes a disease, Ca
listerosis, which can be fatal to Fo
debilated people such as those who ar<
are elderly and sick, and newborn go
infants. The disease is passed thro- Ht
ugh the pregnant mother into the W
placenta of an unborn child, causing pr
stillborn children. In healthy adults, po
listerosis is characterized by a flulike Ac
illness with mild to moderate sym- tai
pytoms such as fever, headaches and Ca
vomiting. rei
Anyone who may hav^purctiasea inl
y ot the above three items should
t eat it, but destroy it. North
rolina Department ot Agriculture
od and Drug Protection inspectors
: currently checking the original
rcery sites in Johnston, Lee,
irne.t, Nash, Simpson, Duplin and
ayne Counties to ensure none of
oduct is on the shelves. At this
int <n time, U.S. Food and Drug
lministration officials are not cer
n any of the product is in North
irolina; however, all reasonalbe
cautions are being tai^en until
Formation is available.