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THE NEWS-TIMES
CARTERET COUNTY NEWS-TIMES
50th YEAR, NO. 2. TWO SECTIONS TEN PAGES MOREHEAD CITY AND BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1961_ PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS
Rescuers Dig 16-Year-Old from Well
Introducing Mr. 1961 ...
Little Jeff Bordeaux, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Bordeaux Jr., Morehead City, celebrates at his own
New Year’s Eve party. He recommends the contents of his bottle for every bottle opened at parties New
Year’s Eve.
With Morehead City Board
To solve future traffic problems
in town, Leigh Wilson of the League
of Municipalities, recommended
Tuesday night that the Morehead
City board of adjustment meet
with the Carteret County Planning
commission.
The purpose would be to explore
possibilities of the planning com
mission joining with the town to
develop a plan for future streets
and highways. Mr. Wilson met
with town commissioners and the
board of adjustment.
“Morehead City traffic is an
area problem,” Mr. Wilson said.
“Your traffic consists of people
who want to get to the beach and
to Beaufort.”
Mr. Wilson referred to the mas
ter plan for future projects as a
“thoroughfare plan.” The division
of community planning of the De
partment of Conservation and De
velopment would assist in the plan
ning, he said. The division is now
setting up a regional office in Kins
ton.
If towns work with the State
Highway commission, future high
way projects and town needs can
be joined in a way beneficial to the
town, the league official said.
But a town is expected to place
before the highway commission a
program of its needs.
In reply to a question by Marion
Mills, chairman of the board of
adjustment, Mr. Wilson said that
by-passes do not hurt a town's
business section. “Studies show
that only 10 per cent of total traf
fic is through traffic. If you run
a by-pass, you’re going to get rid
of 10 per cent of your downtown
traffic which makes it that much
better for those who want to shop
and for those who do business.”
< After a lengthy discussion of
town parking problems, the town
board asked the board of adjust
ment to make recommendations on
Hearing on Building Rules Set for Feb. 6
Monday, Feb. 6, has been set as
the date for a public hearing on a
hurricane building code proposed
Tuesday by the Carteret County
Planning commission. The com
mission’s code was presented to
the board of county commission
ers.
Anyone interested in a copy of
it should contact Odell Merrill,
clerk to the board, at the register
of deeds office, courthouse, Beau
fort, or M. G. Coyle, Atlantic
Beach.
The county planning commission
recommended that the board adopt
and enforce the North Carolina
State Building code, on which no
public hearing is needed.
zoning ordinance revisions, partic-'
ularly as to parking, and report
to the board in several months.
Commissioner Walter Morris
raised questions regarding ade
quate parking space in downtown
Morehead City.
Mr. Wilson said that some zon
ning ordinances require that a new
business building have off-street
parking accommodations in direct
proportion to the number of square
feet in the building and the type
of building it is—whether a retail
store, office building, etc.
In some dense business sections
where an old building on a small
lot is replaced with a new build
ing, the off-street parking require
ment is waived because of the lack
of available land for off-street
parking.
Gallants Channel Bridge
Will Close for Repairs
The Gallants channel bridge on
US 70 between Beaufort and More
head City will be closed for sev
eral days beginning Monday, ac
cording to an announcement today
by the State Highway department.
Tile bridge is locally known as the
Beaufort bridge.
Contract work on repairs to the
fender system will necessitate
daily closing of the bridge to both
highway and water-borne traffic
between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and
1:30 p.m.
Highway engineers say the bridge
may be re-opened to highway traf
fic Within three or four days, but
will be closed to water traffic for
approximately five weeks.
During the hours of closing, traf
fic bound from the New Bern area
to Beaufort will be detoured over
NC 101 from Havelock. Appropri
The board took no action. *
The state bnilding code now ap
plies state-wide, but in this coun
ty has never been enforced. The
planning commission recommends
that county commissioners and
town commissioneta appoint quali
fied building inspectors to. enforce
those basic building requirements.
The hurricane hhilding code,
termed “windstorm resisting con
struction code" is supplemental to
the statewide code and is devised
to protect property in areas such
as this where high winds occur.
Planning commission members
who appeared before the board
said that already as many as 10 in
surance companies have refused to
Mr. Wilson recommended that
off-street parking be required
throughout the town, in residential
areas as well as business. The
board agreed, commenting that in
many residential areas cars can be
parked nowhere except in the
street.
Mr. MHls inquired about provid
ing loading zones for stores. Mr.
Wilson said that a loading zone
should be provided for businesses
only where the business has no
other means of access such as al
leys.
He suggested that the chief of
police and a town commissioner
make a survey of the town and
make recommendations as to park
ing, if necessary, and loading zones.
See PLANNING, Page 4
ate detour signs will be erected in
Havelock. Traffic destined from
the New Bern area to Morchead
City will continue to use US 70.
There will be times during prog
ress of the work when the bridge
may be opened for brief periods to
both highway and water traffic.
In such instances, the detour signs
will be removed and traffic will
flow as usual.
Damage to the fender system
occurred during hurricane Donna.
Repair work involving the driving
Df some 35 new piles is being han
dled by the Tidewater Construc
tion Corp. of Norfolk, at a contract
cost of $28,000.
J. H. Burruss, resident engineer
in this area, said yesterday that
10 of the piles to be replaced are
located under the highway section
of the bridge.
write insurance in this area be
cause of the high risk due to wind.
County commissioner Skinner
Chalk said that some property own
ers have to pay two and half times
the premium they used to for in
surance.
Planning board member Cecil
Morris said a property on the
beach which formerly could be in
sured for $400 annually now car
ries a premium of $1,000 annually.
It was pointed out that people
are finding it more difficult to get
loans on property. Uninsurable
property is not considered good se
curity for a loan.
“A wind storm code is necessary
to get loans and satisfy insurance
■i
Owners Hove
Some of Cattle
On Shackleford
• County Board Hears
Road Request
• Highway Commission
Sets Hearing Date
Commissioner David Yeomans,
Harkers Island, told county com
missioners Tuesday that between
12 and 15 head of cattle in the herd
on Shackleford were taken off the
banks last week.
Owners of the herd have been
disputing the right of the state and
the county to make them move the
cattle. Mr. Yeomans said he doubt
ed that the owners, Mrs. Olive Wil
lis and Ralph Chadwick, would take
the case to the supreme court.
Resident judge W. J. Bundy ruled
last month in favor of the state
and against the cattle owners.
Mrs. Carl Ball, Kinston, and Mrs.
Hazel Thompson, White Oak town
ship, appeared before the board to
ask if the state would maintain a
road a half mile long, during the
school year, so that the school bus
could pick up the Thompson chil
dren at the end of the road.
The Thompsons live on the old
Ernest Waters farm now owned by
the Balls. C. Y. Griffin, district
engineer, who attended the meet
ing, said he would look into the
matter.
The board approved dropping
from the highway system one-tenth
of a mile at Wildwood. The re
quest to release the road was made
by Mr. Griffin, who said that a
property owner objects to the state
work.
The road, numbered 1151, is half
a mile long. The remaining four
tenths will stay on the state sys
tem. Mr. Griffin said that the road
1 is on the railroad right-of-way
the state has been informed by the
attorney general that the method
in which the railroad acquired the
land prohibits use of it for anything
but a railroad right-of-way.
The clerk was requested to noti
fy Lee Murdoch, who came before
the board last month relative to a
road at Wildwood, about the com
plications that have arisen in the
above case.
Odell Merrill, clerk, asked the
highway commission to check on
maintaining the road to Thurman
Pittman’s at Merrimon as a neigh
borhood road. Commissioner Gas
ton Smith informed Mr. Griffin and
John L. Humphrey, county high
way superintendent, that unless
they do something fast about a
road at Atlantic, the water is about
to overtake it.
Mayor W. H. Potter appeared to
inform the board that the Civil
Aeronautics board has ruled that
an airline can discontinue service
to an airport if passengers originat
ing at that airport are fewer than
an average of five per day per
flight.
He said that Piedmont may de
cide to discontinue service into
Beaufort-Morehead in the summer
time. The board said that it would
request its airport commission to
write a letter to Piedmont inform
ing the airline of the county’s in
terest in continued passenger ser
vice.
A letter from the mayor was read
earlier in the meeting. It request
ed that the county ask the highway
commission to put spillways under
the new roadway which will ap
proach the bridge across Newport
river. Mr. Potter said this would
help prevent high water in Beau
fort during storms.
Moses Howard, chairman of the
county board, announced that the
highway commission will conduct
a hearing for counties of division
2 from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan.
19, at the courthouse.
John Valentine, architect, re
quested a fee of 6 per cent for esti
See BOARD, Page 2
companies,” Mr. Coyle said. Mr.
Coyle, a planning board member,
with W. C. Carlton, another mem
ber, drew up the wind storm code.
Contractors were consulted. Mr.
Carlton said that 90 per cent of the
contractors said a code was need
ed, but all the contractors have
not yet seen it. It was suggested
that copies be mailed to them.
Dr. L. J. Dupree, planning board
chairman, highly commended Mr.
Carlton and Mr, Coyle for their
work. Commissioner Chalk moved
that the board adopt a resolution
thanking the pi an ding commission
tor their work.
The Feb. 6 hearing will begin
it 2 p.m. at the courthouse.
This is the wooden shaft, built by the Frost brothers of Salter Path
in about 10 minutes. It was placed in the hole and around Thompson
to protect him from further cave-ins. The X upper right marks the
direction from which the tunnel was dug to the well.
aasmfx .
This is the hole from which Thompson was taken. The photographer lay in the tunnel leading to it to
take this picture. Over him was the flooring of the house. The arrow upper left points to the wall of the
garage which was resting on sand befqge the sand was dug away from it. The arrow lower left points
to boarding used to shore up the walls of the tunnel. The pipe Thompson was trying to reach was about
3 feet below the point where concrete blocks have now fallen in.
County Officials Visit
Proposed Hospital Sites
County commissioners visited
several proposed hospital sites
Tuesday during their first meeting
of the new year. Viewed were
sites in the Crab Point area as
well as the Earle Webb estate on
highway 24.
No decision was made other than
a general agreement among com
missioners that a site and archi
tect should be obtained as soon as
possible.
Moses Howard, chairman of the
board, said the board has received
an invitation to go through the
Beaufort county hospital.
The board hasn’t decided wheth
er it will choose an architect on
the basis of visits to hospitals re
cently built by architects interested
in the job, or whether it will in
vite the many architects who have
contacted them, to a conference.
James D. Potter, auditor, advis
ed the board that it hospital bonds
are to be issued in 1962, the county
must refinance its present debt in
July 1961. He said it would be de
sirable to issue the bonds in No
vember of this year and call for
aids for the hospital in January
L962.
If this procedure is followed, as
luming that it will take 18 months
:o build the hospital, the hospital
vould be complete in July 1963.
The board took no action on au
horizing refinancing in July. Lu
iber Hamilton Jr. county attorney.
reported on a meeting he and Mr.
Potter had recently with William
Henderson, executive secretary of
the Medical Care commission.
Mr. Hamilton said that the Med
ical Care commission will give no
statement in writing that the mon
ey promised the county for a hos
pital will be given. He said that
Mr. Henderson advised the county
to acknowledge a letter received
from the commission Sept. 16,
1960 wherein the Medical Care
commission made its proposal on
matching funds.
Mr. Hamilton said the Medical
Care commission also must have
a copy of a resolution from the
Morehcad City hospital trustees
stating that they will close the
Morehcad City hospital upon the
opening of the new hospital.
See HOSPITAL, Page 2
Seal Sale Chairman
Reports $2,283 to Date
Collected thus far in the TB
Christmas seal sale in the county
is $2,283, announces Frank Cas
siano, TB seal sale chairman.
Reminders to about a thousand
families who received seals are to
go out within the next week. It is
hoped that between $$00 and $600
will be received as a result, thus
bringing the total closer to, or be
yond, last year’s receipts of $2,600.
Kurt Thompson Survives
Tuesday
7
By LARRY McCOMB
Sixteen-year-old Kurt Thompson narrowly escaped
death Tuesday night when rescue workers pulled him out
of a collapsed well shaft after four hours of frantic dig
ging hampered by cave-in after cave-in.
The boy was buried under four feet of sand as he work
ed to free a broken pipe in a well shaft under the garage
-««*• ■ MS
... . .. ■
Kurt Thompson recovers in
Morehead City hospital. Cuts on
his face are from the post-hole
digger used by his father to reach
hint after sand buried him in the
well shaft.
few K K
State Asks Bid
On New Bridge
The State Highway commission
has called for a bid on the new
bridge across the Newport river
at Morehead City.
The highway commission of
fice notes, however, that the bid,
scheduled for opening Jan. 24,
will not be opened if Army engi
neers have not given approval
of bridge plans by that date.
The new bridge is expected to
cost $2 million and take about
two years to build.
Announced closing of the
BEAUFORT bridge next week
has nothing to do with request
for bids for the new bridge. There
are no plans at present to close
the MOREHEAD CITY bridge
across Newport river. Calls re
ceived at the newspaper office
indicate that people are confused
as to which bridge will be closed.
Tide Table
Tides at the Beaufort Bar
HIGH LOW
Friday, Jan. 6
10:47 a.m. 4:34 a.m.
11:34 p.m. . 5:13 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7
11:22 a.m. 5:02 a.m.
... 5:41 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 8
: 11 a.m. 5:37 a.m.
:03 p.m. 6:16 p.m.
Monday, Jan. t
:51 a.m. 6:31 a.m.
:50 p.m. 7:10 p.m.
of his home at Emerald Isle.
His father. George Thompson,
and J. C. Keeter, who was visiting
at the Thompson home at the time,
managed to uncover the boy's head
after about thirty minutes of dig
ging but it was another three and
one-half hours before rescuers
’ could life the youth from the hole.
A wooden shaft, built on the spot
to place over Thompson’s head to
protect him from further cave-ins.
and oxygen supplied by Morehead
City and Atlantic Beach rescue
squads were credited with saving
the boy’s life.
At one point in the rescue opera
tion, diggers had managed to free
three-fourths of Thompson’s body
when a second cave-in buried him
again up to his neck. It was then
that the Frost brothers of Salter
Path put together the shaft that
was put around Thompson.
The boy and his father had been
digging a well under the garage
through an 18 x 24 hole in the con
crete floor of the garage. They had
dug out a shaft approximately 10
feet deep under the garage and
had sunk the pipe for the well an
other 40-50 feet.
The boy’s father said Wednesday,
“Our pipe had broken and we were
having to pull it back up. It stuck
as we were bringing it up and Kurt
went into the shaft to attempt to
hook a chain onto the pipe so we
could get it out with a pulley.
While he was in the shaft attaching
the chain, the sides of the shaft
caved in burying hint under ap
proximately four feet of sand.”
Thompson called for Keeter and
told him, “My boy’s in there.” The
pair began digging immediately
with a post hole digger and their
hands to foadh Kurt. Mrs. Thomp
son, meanwhile rushed three miles
to Salter Path to summon help.
Thompson said that after about
30 minutes of digging they struck
the top of Kurt’s head with the
post hole digger. He was uncon
scious when they reached him and
they didn’t know whether or not he
was still alive. Help began arriv
ing on the scene shortly after
Thompson had the boy’s head un
covered and oxygen administered
soon brought him around.
From his hospital bed Wednes
day, Kurt said that it seemed to
him that it was about two minutes
or so after the cave-in that he
blacked out. In telling of the peril
ous seconds following his entomb
ment, Kurt said that he was kneel
ing in the shaft when the walls
fell on him.
He had his right arm down at his
side but managed to get his left
arm up to within about six or eight
inches of his face. With his left
arm he managed to push the sand
back just enough that he could get
a tiny breathing space.
He said he got terribly cold wait
ing for the rescuers to get him out.
The entire rescue operation was
hampered by the fact that diggers
had to work through the small hole
in the cement floor of the garage
to reach the boy. Workers, hoisted
head-first through the hole and
held by their heels, handed up
bucket after bucket of sand as they
worked to free the youth.
After the second cave-in, res
cuers abandoned trying to reach
Kurt through the hole in the floor
and went through the foundation
of the house to try tunneling into
the boy from the side. By this
time the shaft had been placed
over Kurt’s head and freeing him
remained only a matter of how
long it would take to tunnel into
the shaft from under the house.
Workers had reached Kurt at ap
proximately 9 o’clock and the boy
was removed from the hole through
the tunnel that had been dug to
free him. He was rushed to the
Morehead City hospital where he
was placed under an oxygen tent.
X-rays taken Wednesday morning
See RESCUE, Page 2
Patrolman Clarifies
Report on Accident
Morehead City patrolman E. D.
O’Neal clarified Wednesday an ac
cident report made in Tuesday's
paper.
In an accident at 16th and
Bridges streets Friday, a 1951 Ply
mouth station wagon, reported as
having stopped at Bridges on 16th,
did not stop completely, the patrol
man said, but kept rolling.
As a result, it struck another
car turning from Bridges south on
16th. The Plymouth, driven by J.
B. Felton, Morehead City, .was
headed north. Driving the other
car, a 1958 Ford, was Nancy F.
Pittman at Merrimon.