PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXVIII NO. 39 USPS 162-860 KENANSVILLE, NC 28349 SEPTEMBER 26. 1985 16 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Duplin Elections Draw 51 Candidates
Duplin County contains 10 incor
porated municipalities, which have
27 town board and mayoral seats
open in the November election.
All Duplin County towns elect
their officials on a nonpartisan basis
and by plurality count. That means,
P Election Supervisor Carolyn Murphy
said, they will conduct no primary
elections next month. The county
Board of Elections conducts the town
elections.
By Friday's noon deadline, 51
candidates filed for offices in 10
Duplin County towns.
Nineteen candidates filed between
noon Wednesday and the deadline.
By noon Wednesday, 32 candi
dates had filed for the various
positions. The filing deadline for
town offices for the November
? election was noon Friday.
The 1.410 Wallace voters are
guaranteed at least a contest for
mayor with Mayor Earl W. W hi taker
opposed by a former mayor, Melvin
Cording. Two board seats are open
and only the two incumbents have
filed. They are J. Luther Powell and
David E. Jordan.
Kenansville's 508 voters also are
guaranteed a choice for mayor with
Town Commissioner Jimmie D.
Newkirk and newcomer Bennie L.
Prince seeking the post. Only one
candidate has filed so far for the two
board seats open. He is Earl
Hatcher, an incumbent.
The 855 registered Rose Hill
voters also will have a choice for
mayor with Mayor Ben L. Harrell
opposed by Perry Whaley. Three
board seats are open, two for
four-year terms, and one for a two
year term. Incumbents Felton R.
Rackley and Gregory D. Miller have
filed. Miller now holds the two-year
term. He was appointed to fill an
unexpired term.
The Town Board seats are open in
Teachey, which has 125 voters.
Incumbents Henry "Zeke" Wells
Jr. and W.O. ?'Bill" Montford have
filed for re-election.
No incumbent had filed for re-,
election by noon Wednesday in
Magnolia, where three board seats
are open. The town has 306 voters.
Three newcomers have filed for the
posts. They are Ilene Guy, Ruth
Evans and Clarence W. Whaley.
The Warsaw mayor's seat will be
sought by Thomas D. Johnson and
Benjamin Eason. Mayor Sam
Godwin had not filed by Wednesday.
The town has 1,499 voters. A contest
has been assured for the Town Board
with three candidates filing for two
seats. Incumbents W.E. Foster and
W. John Weatherly are seeking
re-election. Also filing is Celestine
Nickelson.
Greenevers, with 270 voters, has
three board seats open. Incumbent
Earl H. Murphy and George F.
Henry and Clifton Williams have
filed.
In Beulaville, with 706 voters.
Mayor Wilbur Hussey Jr. has filed
for re-election. Kenneth Smith and
incumbent Elvis L. Sumner have
filed for Town Board seats.
Faison Mayor N.F. McColman has
filed for re-election The town has
377 voters. Filing for the three Town
Board seats are Robert David Ken
nedy and incumbents Melvin Rogers
and William J. Igoe. lgoe is a former
mayor.
Calypso elects all of its Town
Board members to two-year terms.
No one had filed for the board seats
by Wednesday. Mayor Eugene S.
Emmer has filed for re-election.
Kenansville voters can choose
among three candidates for mayor.
Late filers were Donald E. Suttles,
the incumbent, for mayor, and
Ronald K. Bostic, an incumbent for
Town Board. Other candidates for
mayor are Jimmy D. Newkirk and
Bennie L. Prince. Earl Hatcher, an
incumbent, previously filed for one
of the two open Town Board seats.
Calypso voters will elect a mavor
and five Town Board members to
two-year terms. Late filers inc ide
Norwood G. Barfield for may > to
oppose incumbent Mayor Eugene S.
Emmer. Running for Town Board
seats are David Brock, Leslie "Ike"
Nunn, Roy D. Davis, Libby Lewis
Boykin, M.J. Lambert Jr., Jerry R.
Turner, William Rose and Milford
Turner.
Five late-filing candidates brought
the field to eight in the contest for
three Magnolia Town Board seats.
Late filers are Sherwood Ezzell,
Preston Hall. Millard Williams, John
D. Quinn and Hubert Lee Howard.
Previously filing were Ilene Guy,
Ruth Evans and Clarence W.
Whaley.
Three candidates are seeking two
four-year terms on the Rose Hill
Town Board. They are Gary L.
Boney, George S. "Scotty" Murray
and Felton Rackley. Gregory D.
Miller remains unopposed for com
pletion of a four-year term.
Jerry Frank Bullard III is a late
filer for the Wallace Town Board. J.
Luther Powell and David E. Jordan
previously filed for the two open
seats.
Late filer Charles Johnson Shef
field Jr. brings to four the number of
candidates for the two board seats
open in Warsaw. Previously filing
were W.E. Foster, W. John
Weatherlv and Celestine Nickelson.
Candidates are running un
opposed for offices in Beulaville,
Faison, Greenevers and Teachey.
School Population
I
May Stop Falling
Officials say an increased number
of kindergarteners this year might
mean an eventual end to declining
school enrollments.
School population in Duplin
* County has declined from more than
? 10,000 students 30 to 40 years ago to
8,230 as of last week. The county's
population declined steadily from
1950 until stabilizing in the 1970s.
As of last week, school enrollment
this year was 53 fewer than last year.
Monday of last week was the 10th
day of school and enrollment on that
day is used to figure state aid.
"The enrollment is well above
what was projected for us bv the
estate and we won't lose any state
Pteaching positions," Associate
Superintendent Gary Sanderson said
on Wednesday.
The state had projected an en
rollment of 8,191 for Duplin this
year.
The kindergarten enrollment is the
most significant sign of forthcoming
stability, Sanderson said.
-dfc in , ? ? m ijail
The lOth-day kindergarten en
rollment was 582 compared with 584
last year. "We've had two or three
more children enrolled since
Monday, so that puts us on a par
with last year," he said.
"It's an encouraging sign for us,"
Sanderson said.
The lOth-day kindergarten enroll
ment was 52 more than the nth
grade enrollment of 529.
The 659 first-graders this year is
75 greater than last year's kinder
garten enrollment of 584. Sanderson
had no explanation for the growth.
The number of this year's first
graders is 23 more than the new
kindergartners.
The Wallace-Rose Hill area con
tinues to be the fastest-growing area
of the county, he said. Population
and enrollment seem to have stabi
lized in the North Duplin area.
Sanderson said an exact breakdown
of enrollment by districts will be
available this fall.
"There is some indication from
our secondary principals that some
high school students are still work
ing in the tobacco harvest," San
derson said. The tobacco harvest is
at least three weeks late in much of
the county.
While the number of kindergart
ners provides a direct comparison
with pupils, comparisons between
years in other grades are blurred by
retentions, promotions and
dropouts.
Enrollment in the last year's 11th
grade was 585 while enrollment in
this year's 12th grade is 529 stu
dents, 56 fewer. But, the current 529
seniors outnumber last year's
seniors by 14.
Enrollment in other grades, with
the lOth-day figure listed first and
last year's figure second, follow:
First: 659,671; Second: 638.662;
Third: 651,605; Fourth: 572,604;
Fifth: 600,619; Sixth: 621,643;
Seventh: 655,680; Eighth: 677, 710;
Ninth: 751,718; 10th: 692,583; 11th:
500,585.
... * i sr. r 1
Duplin Students Volunteer
For Educational Benefit
Students from all county schools
have volunteered to "show the kind
of talent we have in our community"
and at the same time help raise
money for the Duplin County Eriuca
tion Foundation to be turned into
scholarships and educational pro
gramming activities, said Austin
Carter, Duplin schools direi tor of
support services.
Applications by student, of all
ages are currently being reviewed by
the committee of cultural arts in
structors from Duplin schools. The
idea, Austin said, is to produce an
original musical celebrating the life
of man from birth onward. And, the
goal is to raise $15,000. The produc
tion is entitled Generation Cele
bration and is slated for November
16 in Kenan Memorial Auditorium in
Kenansville.
The Generation Celebration is an
opportunity Duplin school students
have never been offered in the past,
Carter pointed out. The production is
expected to cast as many as 150
Duplin students of all ages and from
different schools as musicians,
actors, singers and dancers.
"The Foundation sees this pro
duction as more than just a fund
raising vehicle," Carter said. "For
one thing, the production is an
opportunity for the young people to
show the kind of talent we have
available in our community. And, it
offers the community a chance to
show their support for the efforts of
the young people." In addition to the
student cast, an equal number of
adult volunteers will be working to
provide concessions, design and
construct sets, sell tickets and print
programs.
According to Carter, S10.000 ot
*bc ^rpyeeds ftom tiv- production
wilftw*hlart'rf*in'ii PhirTtin Fitu#*t?on
Foundation Endowment to help con
tinue the programming currently
established by the organization.
Such activities include summer
computer camps, scholarships and
the academic excellence recognition
program. Funds over the $10,000
point will be funneled back to the
county schools for cultural arts
programming.
The Generation Celebration is the
first public fundraising activity
sponsored by the Duplin Education
Foundation. Austin pointed out the
Duplin Education Foundation was
the second such organization estab
lished in the state. The group was
chartered in late 1983 and became
active in 1984 raising funds through
private donations.
Members of the Foundation will
begin ticket sales Oct. 1, Carter said.
Tickets are available by contacting
Bill Hennessee of Faison, Ed Holt of
Warsaw, Carey Wrenn of Kenans
ville, Buford Hutchins of Beulaville,
Linda Murphy of Rose Hill and
Hariette Farrior of Wallace. A limit
of 2,000 tickets are available for the
production.
County Students Key
To Educational
Assessment Programs
The Duplin County Board of
Education will be conducting a
complete assessment of students'
needs, interests and employment
opportunities during the 1985-86
school year. The program assess
ment comes in the light of new
federal and state legislation which
affects vocational programming and
levels of funding.
Part of the assessment will be a
review of the long-range curriculum
plan for vocational education which
the Board adopted in June of 1984.
According to Robert Tart, vocational
director/business manager, the
major goals of the original plan will
probably remain intact. It appears
that the main effect on the 1984 plan
will be to speed up its implemention.
The major recommendations were to
increase courses that prepare stu
dents for careers that are in higher
demand in the labor market, to
decrease program offerings that
have low student appeal and job
placement opportunities, to increase
career guidance in the schools, and
to require all high school students
to complete one unit in vocational
education prior to graduation.
The graduation requirement is
being implemented beginning with
this year's freshman class.
According to Tart, programs that
are likely to receive emphasis in the
redirection are business and office
education, marketing education,
I
industrial arts, health occupations
and career guidance. The original
plan provides continued support for
agricultural education due to the
importance of agriculture in Duplin
County. It also provides continued
support for home economics educa
tion.
Programs that are likely to be
diminished are trade and industrial
education courses for which students
indicate a minimum interest or need.
The degree to which changes will
occur is unclear at this time.
Other vocational curriculum items
that will demand the Board's at
tention this year are the develop
ment of a new delivery system for
vocational services to the handi
capped and disadvantaged, the
implementation of a career develop
ment plan for prevocational students
prior to entering high school, and
new program planning and funding
guidelines.
Duplin County's vocational educa
tion program Is extensive with
course offerings in business, market
ing, health occupations, home eco
nomics, agriculture, industrial arts,
carpentry, masonry, auto mechanics,
drafting, and career explorations.
For the 1985-86 school year, the
program has an enrollment of 4,261
students and is administered by 67
teachers, counselors, and coordi
nators in the four school districts.
> 1985
Duplin County
p?< R
1 Sept. 30-Oct. 5
[Scenes from 1983-84 Duplin County Fairs.)