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PROGRESS SENTINEL
VOL. XXXXV1II NO. 52 USPS 162-860 KENANSV1LLE. NC 28349 DECEMBER 26. 1985 10 PAGES THIS WEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Live Nativity Scene Part Of The Kenansville Celebration
A lire nativity pageant was press r?e<* by-the Kenansville United Methodist
Parish as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas celebration. The nativity
^ pageant was held at the Kenansville United Methodist Church on December
19, the seventh day of the celebration. The Kenansville United Methodist
Parish is made up of four local churches and Pastor Jim Harris led the
service. Pictured above, shepherds and Mary and Joseph from the nativity
pageant.
Proposed $10 Million Referendum
Duplin Voters To Face School Issue In May
Duplin County voters will decide a
SIO million school bond proposal
during the May primary election.
The Board of Commissioners
authorized the referendum by a I 2
vote last week. Voting to hold the
referendum were Commissioners
Allen Nethercutt, W.J. Costin and
Dovie Penney. Voting against were
Commissioners D.J. Fussell and
'Calvin Turner.
The Board of Education asked for
a referendum to be held separately
from the state and county primary
for general elections so people could
concentrate on the school situation.
County Manager .Ralph Cottle said
a special election would cost $12,000.
He said special elections draw small
voter turn-outs.
Election board records show that
in a 1966 referendum on a SI.25
million Duplin County hospital bond
issue, only 1,127 people voted for it
and 365 against it out of a voter
registration of 18,844. In a 1951
referendum, a hospital bond issue
was approved by 1,920 to 460.
Cottle said that although the entire
SI 0 million worth of bonds would not
be sold at once, a bond issue could
be costly. If $10 million worth of
bonds were sold at 8.5 percent
interest over 20 years, the total
payback would be S18.9 million.
Board of Education Member
James F. Strickland said, "I would
like to have a special election so we
could concentrate just on educa
tion."
Co?tia said the school board was
elected to maintain the schools and
the board believes it needs to update
buildings. "So, I move we hold a
referendum with the primary in Ma,
because more voters will be there
then in a special election."
Nethercutt seconded the motion
but said he does not support or
oppose the bond issue. "I have
obligations to put it to the people.
It's too much money for me" to
decide.
In other business. County Finance
Officer Russell Tucker told the board
the county's insurance bill had in
creased $42,000. The county had
budgeted $45,399 for insurance but
has been billed for $89,358.
Extension Chairman Lois Britt
discussed a proposal for the exten
sion offices to move into the former
Kenansville Elementary School
building, which has been turned over
to the county. The plan would
require remodeling and ir tiling
heating and air conditioning, one
said the Agribusiness Council will
determine if it is interested in the
plan within 90 days.
Nethercutt said, "We have to
make a decision. We need to know
what you want to do. It looks like
somebody's dragging their feet.''
Mrs. Britt said she agreed, but
that it is hard to get all the various
boards in agreement.
The board approved reducing the
standard declaration of the value of a
homeowner's personal property from
10 percent of the home's value to
seven percent, because of the forth
coming revaluation of real property.
Renters would still use 10 times their
monthly rent as a standard valua
tion.
The standards allow taxpayers to
avoid itemizing all their personal
property for tax purposes.
Rose Hill Poultry
Plant Pollution Case
: Gets Hearing, No Action
^ A turkey plant's appeal of a
- $27,000 fine by the state Division of
Environmental Management will
keep papers shuffling until spring,
the hearing officer said Wednesday
after listening to testimony in' the
case.
The House of Raeford in July was
fined $15,000 for discharging treated
waste into Cabin Branch for 15
months without a permit; $10,000 for
making an outlet for the untreated
waste to pour into state waters June
|8; $1,000 for operating the treatment
1'plant June 8; and $l,t)00"for causing
or allowing waste to discharge into
state waters in violation of water
quality standards.
The company contends it has a
valid permit to operate its waste
water treatment plant.
After Wednesday's he*.,..tt ad
journed, Jim Holloway, administra
tive hearing officer with the state
Department of Natural Resources
[and Community Development, said
he will study a transcript and law
recommendation to the Environ
mental Management Commission.
The commission probably will not
rule until spring, Holloway said. The
ruling could be appealed to superior
Court.
Company officials deny' they had
anything to do with the discharge of
untreated waste water into Cabin
Branch. It happened when the cap on
a pipe was removed, allowing un
treated waste water from a treat
ment lagoon to flow into the swamp
branch instead of being sprayed onto
a 30-acre filtration field for purifi
cation.
Henry Jones of Raleigh repre
sented the company, implying that a
third party opened the pipe.
Thomas Hilliard III of Raleigh,
representing the DEM, insisted
company employees opened the
pipe. He attempted to show that it
was done to save money, a charge
denied by company employees.
The case has two parts ? the
water pollution 'question and the
permit question.
The permit question stems from
"J |
the January 1984 merger of Nash
Johnson & Sons Farms' Rose Hill
Poultry Processing Co. with its
House of Raeford firm. A DEM
permit was issued to Rose Hill
Poultry, but is not transferable. The
state contends a new permit is
required for the Rose Hill broiler
plant even though management,
ownership and operation remain the
same. > '
The Johnsons owned 98 percent of
the House of Raeford and 100
percent of the Rose Hill plant when
they merged them. Marvin Johnson,
president of House of Raeford and
Nash Johnson & Sons, testified the
merger was made to put the Raeford
name on its broilers.
The pollution question came up
when Colton Wells of Rose- Hill, who
owns land on Cabin Branch near the
poultry plant north of Rose Hill,
complained to the DEM. After a call
from Wells June 8, DEM inspectors
found a dark, odorous substance
discharging from the pipe into the
swamp branch, according to testi
mony.
Fire Victim
Critical, Burned
'
Child Released
Glennie Pearsall, a crippled
69-year-old woman who was res
cued from her burning mobile home
Friday a.m., over a week ago,
remained in critical condition at the
N.C. Memorial Hospital burn center
in Chapel Hill.
Her three-year-old granddaughter
Dorrie Pearsall was released from
Duplin General Hospital in Kenans
ville last week.
Mrs. Pearsall was in the bedroom
of her mobile home north of Kenans
ville around 8 a.m. when the fire
broke out. Edward Graham, a.
passerby, and neighbor Ricky Sutton
noticed the fire and used an axe to
tear into the burning mobile home.
Graham crawled through the hole,
found the little girl and handed her
through the hole to Sutton, according
to Hiram Brinson, the county emer
gency management coordinator.
Graham then heard Mrs. Pearsall
moaning on the bedroom floor. The
women, whose legs had been ampu
tated. had fallen from the bed in an
attempt to escape.
Graham carried her to safety just
before the mobile home was en
gulfed in flames, Brinson said.
Graham was treated for smoke inha
lation.
Hospice Volunteer
Training Available
Home Health and Hospice Care,
Inc. is developing a hospice program
for Duplin County, and is seeking
interested individuals who desire
training as a hospice volunteer.
Hospice is a program to provide
support to terminally ill patients and
their families. To qualify as a hospice
volunteer, one must complete a
training program designed specifi
cally for hospice volunteers, and
then be individually interviewed.
This will prepare the volunteer for
dealing with the patient and his
family and through careful screening
and interviewing, appropriate and
compatible assignments can be
made.
The hospice training program will
consist of five sessions, each dealing
with various aspects of hospice care.
The first session will deal with
hospice concepts such as the history
of hospice, an overview of the
program, and the role of volunteers.
There will also be a panel of
religious leaders to discuss religious
and cultural views about death and
dying.
Session two will deal with getting
in touch with your own feelings
about death. The third session will
iiivuiyc a untussiun ui cuiiiiiiuiiiia
tion skills and frustrations faced by
patients and their families, and basic
physical care of the terminally ill.
Session four deals with funeftl plan
ning and bereavement counseling,,
and five will be "The Working
Volunteer."
The training program is scheduled
for the following dates: Tuesday,
Jan. 7, 14, 21 and 28; and Thursday,
Jan. 30. It will be held in room 107 of
the McGowen Building at James
Sprunt Technical College in Kenans
ville from 6:30-9:30 p.m. each
evening.
There is no fee for the training
program, but pre-registration is
required. This must be done prior
to Jan. 3 by calling 1-800-722-3842
Twelve Days Of Christmas Begins
The annual Twelve Days of Christmas in Historic
Kenansville began last Saturday with the lighting of the
community Christmas tree and caroling around a
bonfire. Participating in the tree-lighting and caroling
along with the townspeople was the North Carolina 3rd
Battalion Civil War soldiers camped across from
# \
Liberty Hall during the weekend. The soldiers repre
sented a living history as they acted as escorts during
the open house at Liberty Hall ont he second day of the
Twelve Days of Christmas. Pictured above, soldiers and
townspeople gather around the bonfire and sing carols.
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