E9BEE
IMPROVED FARM
• ■‘SSiri. .1 . v ■
a Little Early, But Let’s Warm Uo The Political Pot
pcratie Primaries are Just
around a couple of mere com
ers. y- '
The big political conjecture
that has stolen most of the fall
and winter political talk has
had to do with how badly Kerr
Scott would beat Alton Lennon
for the Junior United States
Senate seat now held by the lat
ter. The coy attitude of Scott
has kept headline writers busy
and Lennon has done his best,
which until this time has been
pretty poor, to get himself a few
off Those sojiecessary head
lines.
der on things political.
At the county level this
spring's primary wilt; bring con
torts In that vote-pulling bat
tle to see who will be the Sigh
Sheriff for the next four years.
•Along With this comes county
Sheriff Sam Churchill will be
back to the race for this post
he has held since his father re
tired Cram the sheriffs posi
tion back In 1838.
At least two of the men who
ran aganst Churchill for Sheriff
in 1950 will be after “Sam’s
bide” again next spring. Clay
Broadway, who ran second, and
M. E. “Zeke” Creech, who plac
ed third, in that 1950 tussle for
the highest police Job in the
county.
Broadway came within 500
votes of scalping Churchill in
the second primary run-off and
he feels that he has not "lost
any ground and may possibly
have gained a little” in the past
four years.
Creech, the youngest of the
three strong contenders for the
post, has also been exceedingly
busy “winning friends and influ
encing potential voters” and he,
like Broadway, feels that his
chances are somewhat better
now than four years ago.
Churchill, who is now 63 years
did (bom August 12, 1821) is
recognised as the county’s
smartest politician. Testimony
to that fact is the fact that he
has been sheriff since December
1938 and his tether held that
post lbr nine years prior tk>
that. So to over 34 years a
Churchill has held the post.
Uhtll recently Churchill has
been operating, his office with
only one deputy and a Jailer
but pressure Iran the grand
Jury and other sources caused
[ the county, board .-of commis
task of reflection easier, while
others argue that ft may be the
rope that hangs him politically.
The larger part of the crit
icism levelled at Churchill has
been his alleged tolerance to
gambling! Joints about the coun
ty and Several shoddy houses of
prostitution. Others hare
charged that Churchill was also
Corn Allotments
A producer who intends
tp plant com in 1954 on a
hum on which no corn was
planted in any of the yean
1951, 1959 and 1953, should,
if he desires price support
on the corn to be produc
ed in 1954, apply in writing
for a 1954 corn acreage al
lotment by January 8. Blank
applications and Acreage
Report forms are available
at the county Agricultural
Stabilization and Conserva
tion (formerly PMA) offices
for filing requests for al
lotments.
Johnnie ^venport. ^iES»^li»
every likelihood that all will
have their name in the pot
when the (Monty’s political pot
is put on the fire.
There has, been a faint but
hard-to-pln-down rumor that
Measley might toss hie Stetson
into the sheriff’s race. If this
were to happen Churchill would
too tolerant of the bootlegging
industry over the county.
Churchill's answer to this
criticism has been, in the past,
that he did not have sufficient
manpower to cope with the sit
uation. NOpJMt he has more
men and etjMu&ent Churchill
will have to wH|a new answer.
The manner and£*fflciency with
which these newsmen and new
equipment are used between
now and election time will have
a pretty profound connection
with Churchill's tenure of of
fice.
County Commissioner Race
At this early time there is
no outward sign of mass
pin
__— -----
Three Important Schools
On Tap for Jones Farmers
Jones County Farm Agent
Jimmy Franck says that he
wants Jones County fawners to
make plans In advance to at
tend any or all of three import
ant school sessions that are to
be held January 12-13-14th in
the court house.
Each of these three sessions Is
to begin at 10 In the morning.
The first will be on tobacco pro
duction and marketing. The
second will be on tractor main
tenance and the final will in
clude illustrated lectures on
corn. and. Soy bean production
and on weed control.
Specialists from State College
tn each of these particular
fields will be on hand for these
schools and Franck urges a large
turnout.
The Farm Agent reminds that
every thing points toward an
ever-tighter squeeze for the
farmer and that it is important
that the farmer learn every
thing possible that can possibly
place him in a better position to
cope with the price-cost squeeze
he finds himself in at present.
have another formidable op
ponent. One who has been in
the political game a long time
and one who knows his way
around in every part of the
county.
The .county commissioners
have a.jfew soreheads, such as
this pafpt, who still have a
pretty low opinion of the man
ner in which the hospital af
fairs of the county have been
handled. But this is not ex
pected to result in any consid
erable trouble for them at the
revaluation of- taxable property
in the bounty last year. But
most folks have gotten used to
this situation and here again
although it can be safely stat
ed that some votes will De lost
to the incumbents they will not
foe. too many.
Ouesslng at this early date
about opposition for the com
missioners would be even wilder
than this paper is capable of
doing. About the only fairly
safe prediction that may' be
made is that there is likely to
be more candidates from the
City of Kinston than in the re
cent past.
Representative’s Race
County Representative Tom
White will very likely be a
candidate to succeed himself in
the General Assembly. White
who is a very tough fighter
bly, mH
Local politicians have for’
many years, however, pointed
out that the best help to elee- ' i
tion available in Lenoir County ; I
or Kinston was to have the 100
per cent opposition of Editor
See Politics Page 10
!st Killer on Lenoir Highways in 1953
The year just ended saw It
persons killed on the streets
and highways of Lenoir Coun
if each of the MO counties in
the state had equalled this
record the North Carolina traf
fic death toll for 1969 would
have been 1600 instead of the
. approximately 1,108 with which
the year finally stuggpred to
an end.
Examination of each of these
10 deaths reveals some Inter
esting if sad facts.
< Sunday was far the most
deadly day to be loose on be
of,the 16 who dh^trom traffic
causes died on Sunday. Sat
urday was next with four fa
talities. Friday and Tuesday
died at 3 a. m. February 8th
five miles north of Kinston on
MC 11 when his car went out
of control at a high rate of
speed and hit a bridge. He was
also 20 years of age. j
Ho. 3 watt Jesse Frederick Br
ans, aged 31-2 years, who died
from head injuries he suffered
when he fell from the' car of
his father on a street in Kin
ston. This happened at’ 12:30
p. m. February 15th.
No. 4 was Marine Ronald F.
Smith of 'Camp (Lejeune—an
other 20-year-old—-wlio died at
12; 15 a. m. on February 18th
after bis car went out of con
trol while travelling at « high
ra*e of Speed on Tower Hin
Road three miles east of Kin
ston. There was also evidence
that ' he had been drinking
stubble punctured her brain.
No. 7 was Henry D. Hargrove
of Kinston Route four who died
at 11:15 a. m. April 12th 51-2
miles south of Kinston aind the
evident cause was excessive
drinking.
The most horrible of all the
many tragedies during the year
on Lenoir’s roadways was to
come on May 17th at 9:20 p. m.
five miles north of Kinston on
US 258 when a car driven by
Carl Zinc rammed head on into
that of Charlie Midyette also
of Kinston, killing Mrs. Mid
yette and their six-year jold only
son. Cause of tfels accident was
the insanity of Zinc, who is still
under psychiatric care in a
Maryland hospital. There were
the 8th and 9th deaths' of
1958 on Lenoir’s streets and
roads. t :
From that tragedy which took
half of the Midyette Family
then took a well-earned
June, July passed by
But
M
Above ambulance attendants
nub into Memorial General
Hospital In Kinston with Ce.
celiaDlck of Kenton, Ohio, who
became the sixth highway fa
tality in 1953 for Lenoir County.
She died tram brain injuries suf
fered, when the car she was rid
slick tire combination that
threw her into a reed patch
where reed stubbles pierced her
her ear. (Polaroid photo-ln-a
minute by Jack Eider).
other holiday in Lenoir but on
the llth Mrs. Dorothea Dille
hunfc'of LaQraage route three
died from Injuries suffered in a
collision on a rural road IS
* m
. Mrs. Dillahunt was No.
on the death parade,
to. 12 followed shortly altar,
rds on Oetober 17th at 5:30