THE JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 18 f^ENTON. N. C„ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24,1959
VOLUME XI
Investigation Stymied in
Jones County Mystery;
Howard Still Critical
Jones County Sheriff Brown
Yates and SB1 agents assisting in
the investigation of the mysterious
shooting that claimed the life of 57
year-old 'Russell Mills and has 55
year-old Rudolph Howard in Duke
Hospital say they have about “run
out of leads”.
Howard, who was mowed down
by four slugs from a .22 caliber
Weapon, has not spoken1 since lie
lapsed into a coma shortly after
arriving at Lenoir Memorial Hos
pital in Kinston on the niight of
September 10th.
One of the four bullets penetrat
ed his upper left lung and caused
its collapse. Howard, already a
chronic asthma sufferer, has had
an extremely difficult time and on
Monday of this week at Duke Hos
pital, where he was transferred on
the 12th, attendants feared he was
dying. During the night, however,
he improved slightly, but is still
* classified as in extremely critical
condition.
The lack of the murder weapon,
absence of other clues and inabili
ty of Howard to talk have left of
ficers with little more than inter
views with people in the neighbor
hood where the crime was ■commit
ted. Practically everyone in the
area between Comfort ami Hargett
Crossroads had been interviewed
in the hope that a motive, or some
clue might be found. So far none
has been found.
/efore falling into the coma in
which he remains, Howard told
Gilbert Family is
Holding Reunion
Members, of the Jones County
Branch of the Gilbert Family will
hold their annual reunion Sunday
at 1 p. m. This year the clan will
gather at the home of Keith Wil
liams, who lives just south of Kin
ston on the Richlands highway.
All members of the family have
been urged to attend and to bring
the usual “well filled" picnic bas
ket which is always an important
part of the program when the Gil
berts get together.
Charlie Mack Koonce that he did
not know who bad shot him.
Koonce, who lives less than a quar
ter of a mile from Howard’s sta
tion where the assault took place,
was bringing Howard to the Kin
ston hospital.
MUXs died front a ballet wound
in the head, and was found in his
car that had been stalled in a ditch
abotft three mile* west of the fill
ing statiion. Officers, believe that
'the man who killed Mills and so
badly wounded Howard drove
MBfe* car to that point. Mills was
lying on the right floorboard of the
car and practically all the blood
inside the car was on the right
side Of the seat and in the right
floorboard area. Blood believed to
have come from Howard was
I smeared all along the right front
fender of the Mills car.
Senator Sam Ervin Says...
WASHING-TON — Last week I
prefaced the column by discussing
why new civil rights legislation is
unnecessary. I stated that there
" feof the dis
FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS
PROPOSALS
Time and space preclude me
from discussing the report in de
tail in this week’s column. In sub
sequent columns I shall set forth
my observations upon four of the
proposals advocated by three of
.the commissioners and rejected by
the other three commissioners.
The four proposals consist of the
proposal that the Constitution of
the United States be amended so
as to deprive the states of their
present constitutional power to pre
scribe the qualifications of voters;
the proposal that all colleges, both
public and private, be deprived of
all Federal grants to coerce them
-into integrating their student bo
dies; the proposal that the Com
mission on Civil Rights be made
a permanent governmental agency
so that its staff may assist in
bringing about the integration of
ail public schools "in Southern
states; and the proftosal that all
Federally-assisted housing be in
tegrated.
THREE COMMISSIONERS
DISSENT
I wish 4o note at this point that
Vice-Chairman Storey and Com
missioners Battle and Carlton, who
are far more familiar with the
South than the other thrfee com
missioners, entered vigorous dis
sents to these proposals.
Commissioner Battle, a distin
guished lawyer and former Gov
ernor of Virginia, stated that “the
report . r . is not an impartial,
factual statement ... but rather,
in large part, an argument in ad
vocacy of preconceived ideas in
the field of race relations.”
SOLUTION OF# RACIAL
PROBLEMS
It is relevant to observe that
racial problems
‘ t good wiB,
- On the
Jocal level where men and women
live, move, and have their being.
Their solution cannot be dictated
i sfrom above, either
dictators
ces, or dictators wearing judicial
Continued 'on page 4
Powell Bill Funds Coming
October 1; Pollocksville Dropped
Over 400 North Carolina munici
palities will share this year in the
distribution of $6,766,092,56 in Po
well Bill Funds. This represents an
approximate 4 per cent increase
over the $6,477,457.37 distributed!
last year. During the nine-year
period of aid under the Powell Bill,
a total of $51,779,757.24 will have
been distributed with the issuance
of this year’s checks.
Checks for their proportionate
shares will be mailed on October
1 to 409 municipalities which quali
fy under the 1951 statute setting a
| side cent of the six cent per
gallon net State gasoline tax for
the use of municipalities in main
taining and improving their non
highway system streets. The net
revenue from the tax amounted to
$61,228,099.60 for the fiscal year
1958-1SB9.
Half of the total Powell Bill al
locations, $3,383,046.29, will be di
vided among all qualified munici
palities on the basis of population
at a per capita rate of $2.21.
The remaining half is divided on
the basis of relative mileage of
hon-highway system or local
i streets of. municipalities comply
I irg with the act at a per mile rate
- of $474.95. Total length of such
l streets this year is 7,122.82 miles,
j Three municipalities have been
added this year. They are Bay
1 shore Park and Cape Carteret,
both in Carteret County and Choco
winity in Beaufort County.
J Larger allocations include: $48Q,
to Charlotte; $365,996.18 to
GreettsborO; $351,814.73 to Winston
Salem; $259,075.20 to Durham;
!
Tuckahoe Negro Held
On Forgery Charge
Robert Earl Hall, a negro ten
ant farmer of Tuckahoe Township,'!
is being held by Jones County
Sheriff Brown Yates on a forgery
charge. I
Hall is accused of forging a check
in the amount of $37.60 on W. Bryan |
Hargett, farmer and livestock
dealer at Hargett Crossroads.
JC Band Elects
Officers for ’59-’60
T^ie following officers have been
elected for the Jones Central High j
School Band: President-Tommy!
Hood, Vice President-Suzanne Ben
der, iSecretary-Treasurer-Martha
Koonce, and Reporter-Dwight Ad
ams. The Band, directed by Char
les J.' Post, will make its first pub
lic appearance of the year at the
La «Gramge-Jones Central football
game in LaGrange on Sept. 18.
$237,485.52 to Raleigh; $222,329.13
to Asheville; $153,119.84 to High
Point and $150,446.26 to Wilming
ton.
The smallest allocation again
this year will-go to Falkland in
Pitt County with a total of $409.76.
Other allocations in this area in
clude: Kinston, $75,128.20; La
Grange, $8,839.13; Pink Hill $2,
456.92; Grifton, $4,418.12.
Trenton, $2,018.86; Maysvffle-**^
859.17.
I New Bern $54,057.23; Dover,
1 $2,403.27; Cove City, $1,777.26.
Heads of TB Christmas Seal Campaign
Named for Lenoir, Jones, Greene Counties
I ' ;• ' .. . :■
The 1959 Christmas Seal Sal*
leaders are shown as they were
presented at a recent meeting of
the board of directors of the Le
noir-Jones-Green* TB Association.
Reading from loft to right are
Melvin Oliver of Snow Hill, chair
man for Green* county; William B.
Glenn of Kinston, chairman for Le
noir county and W. B. Moore of
Trenton, chairman for Jones coun
ty.
I
“Three outstanding citizens will
lead the 1959 Christmas Seal Sale
which begins November 16”, de
clared Dr. Simlmons I. Patrick,
president, as he announced the
names of county chairmen for the
Lenoir-Jones-Greene TB Associa
tion. -
William B. Glenn, president of
the E. V, Webb Tobacco Company,
will head the sale for Lenoir coun
ty; Melvjn Oliver, Mayor of Snoy
Hill, will be chairman for Greene
county and W. B. Moore, Superin
tendent of Jones County Schools,
will load the Jones. Coupty sale.
This year marks the 93rd. year
in which the sale of the penny
Christmas Seal has been used to
raise funds to organize and carry
on the fight against TB. V, ■ ; .
Much progress has been made
but tuberculosis is still the great
est killer of all infectious diseases
and new cases are being discovered
at the rate of one every six minu
tes. The tri-county organization is
grateful to these men for their ac
ceptance of this most important
job in the total TB control pro
gram, said Patrick.
Tickets on Sale for
Rescue Squad Supper
Being Held October 2
Tickets have been on sale for
some time now for a benefit sup
per that is to be held from 6 until
8 p. m. October 2nd at the fair
grounds in Trenton.
All proceeds of this supper will
go toward paying for the ambu
lance and its equipment recently
obtained by the Trenton Emergen
cy Rescue Squad.
People in the Trenton area in
particular are urged to support
this effort which is providing a
badly needed service in countless
kinds of emergency situations that
pop up from time to time around
the farm and home.
Any member of the rescue squad
will be happy to provide as many
tickets as needed.
Land Transfers
Real estate transfers recorded
in the past week in the office of
Jones County Register of Deeds
Mrs. D. W. Koonce included the
following:
John B. Waters to Wade Casper
one tract in Beaver Creek Town
ship.
John Gooding to J. C. West,Jr.
one lot in Trenton.
Fountain Opens
District Office
Rep. L. H. Fountain has opened
' his district office at 310 St. An
drews Street in Tarboro and will
remain open during the Congres
sional adjournment.
Congressman Fountain plans to
be in the district office for ap
pointments Mondays and to devote
the remainder of his time visiting
various areas in the District.
Area Home Economics
Teachers Meet 16th
The vocational Home Economics
teachers of Pender, Duplin, Jones
and Onslow Counties met in Pen
derlea for their monthly Quad
County meeting with Miss Ella Mc
Gowan at hostess.
Each teacher took representa
tives from her F.H.A. Chapter to
select a candidate to run for state
treasurer of the F.H.A. at the dis
trict rally in Kinston on Oct. 10.
Alice Faye Smith from B. F. Grady
School was selected to run for this
position.
At the conclusion of the business
matters the meeting was adjourned.
Ensign Venters is
On Duty at Norfolk
NORFOLK, Va.—Ensign L. S.
Venters Jr., s®n of Mrs. Elizabeth
Venters of Trenton, is serving with
Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squad
ron Seven at the Naval Air Station,
Norfolk, Va.
For the fiscal year 1959, the
squadron was awarded the Navy
efficiency “E” for having the out
standing helicopter anti-submarine
squadron in the Atlantic Fleet.
The squadron recently returned
from exercises at sea aboard the
aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge.
Shady Grove Church
Sponsoring Barbecue
Tlie Shady Grove Methodist
Church is sponsoring a barbecue
and barbecue chicken dinner on
Friday at Hilton Moore’s Store on
the Trenton4Neiw Bern Highway
from 11 a. m. until 1 p. m. Friday
and a barbecue and barbecue
chicken supper at the church from
five until 7 p. m. A harvest sale
will follow the supper at the
church.