Newspapers / Jones County Journal (Trenton, … / Dec. 8, 1960, edition 1 / Page 1
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JONES COUNTY fRENTON, N. C, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1960 VOLUME XII Nelson Banks Named Chairman; George Hughes Fired as New Commissioners Come to Ofiice Above tho Jones County Board of Ccmmiisionert Is soon taking the oath of Mlalr office on Monday morning. Tho board from left to right includes Fred Foscue, Eu » Monday four new and one in cumbent members were sworn in to the Jones County Board of com missioners. The first official action of the new board was to elect Neb son Banks chairman. Then Tax Collector Zelle Pol lock, County Accountant Mrs. Mary E. Brock, County Consultant Earl E. Franck and tax listers for 1981 were named., Alter a fiew minutes of such smooth sailing parliamentary bed lam reigned supreme as the new boafid fumbled with the job of firing Veteran County Attorney George -Hughes and hiring Donald Brock to succeed him. -New Commissioner Eugene Simpson first made a motion to “bench' the matter for( 30 days”. This did not receive a second. New Commissioner Horace' Lee Haddock made motion that Donald Brock be employed at the same pay as Hughes ($1900 per year) uptil July 1st when the pay would be cut to not to exceed $1200 per year. Fred Foscue seconded this mo tion, but when the vote was called tor by Chairman Banks he found only Haddock and Foscue ‘voting “aye”, with Incumbent Harold Mallard and Simpson abstaining. Chairman Banks then called for a rather un-secret ‘‘.secret ballot” on the Haddock motion, in which be cast the deciding vote with Haddock and Foscue. For a few minutes it appeared that the mat-i ter had been settled. Then Attorney Brock was brought to the meeting, and after reading the motion he refused to accept the job on those terms. Haddock was asked if he would amend his motion to delete that part about, the salary cut effective July let. Haddock refused. Foscue then made motion that Brock be hired at the same salary as Hughes. This motion received 3*i)3 Simpson, Nelson Banks, who was elected chairman, Horace Lee Haddock and Harold Mallard. Mi. I la rid was the only incumbent who survived in « knock-down iird-drag-out primary this spring. Additional Telephone Lines for Trenton Construction forces for Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company are placing additional cable facili ties along Jones and Webber Streets in Trenton. C. A. Benson, local manager for the telephone company,, stated that the facilities along this route are ninety-four per cent filled and I to serve new subscribers, provide regradps and take care of the ex pected growth. Manager Benson further stated that this expansion necessitated an expenditure of approximately $1000 and would be put into use around January 1. Campaign Launched Mr*. Sarah Nfll Thompson has announced that Hie Maysyillo Gar den Club is launching a "Litter bug Campaign" in cooperation with the town council. Every citi zen and every merchant is urged to participate in order to have a cleaner, more attractive town. It’s an insult to my profession. You have made clear that you don’t want me so it’s up to you to hire a county attorney.” Chairman: Banks pointed out, “We’ve got to have a county at torney.” ' i Foscue asked Haddock if he would withdraw his original mo tion. Haddock reluctantly agreed. Foscue again made his motion to hire Brock at $1800 per year. This time Haddock seconded this motion. When Banks called for the vote it was 2-2 with Mallard and Simp son abstaining. This, forced Banks again to cast the deciding' vote and employ Brock. The taxliarters who were ap pointed to serve again this year included Alva Howard in-Tucka Trenton Rotarians Recognized for Foundation Support For its «rtributiona of a mini mum of $10 per member to The Rotary, Foundation, the Rotary Club of Trenton has been designat ed a “l’OO per cent Rotary Foun dation dub.” The objective of The Rotary Foundation is the fostering of pro jects to further understanding and friendly relations among the peo ples of different nations. One of its principal objectives is the awarding of fellowships to out standing college graduates tor one year of study abroad as Rotary ambassadors of^good will. EDITORIAL New County Commissioners Monday Jonas County's official family underwent a drastic change} when four new members of the Board of County Commissioners were, sworn in. Mot often in the modem history of Jones County has there been a change in the majority membership of the coun ty's official family. The four new members—Chair man Nelson’ Banks, Fred Foscue, Eugene Simpson and Horace Lee Haddock—have roots deep in the rich soil of their native county. Each has a sincere interest .in giving His county the very best government possible. As in most instances these young men wilt find that running a coun ty from the inside is considerably different from criticizing it from the outside. A major part of their first year in office will consist of learning how little they actually knew about public affairs, and al so finding that the men who pre ceded them in office were not a collection of thieves who were Final ’60 Census Tabulation Shows Net Gain of 1 in Jones Final tabulations of the 1960 cen sus show a net gain of one in the population of Jones County in the past-10 years: From 11,004 to 11,005. ■ Maysville showed a considerable gain in its population, climbing from 818 to 868, but the county’s two other corporate communities showed drops: Pollocksville fell by four from 420 to 416 while Trenton’s popula tion shrunk 65—from 468 to 404. This decennial census shows the following distribution by township f)f Jones County’s 1860 population: White Oak — 1,888 Pollocksville — 2,706 Trenton — 2,060 Cypress Creek — 1,028 —Taokabee — 1,048 — - Chinquapin — 1,006 Beaver Creek — 1,256 > ' Bobby Cox Trying Obtain South’s 1st Superior Meat Sire R. E. Cox of Trenton Route 2 is attempting to become the first Poland China Breeder in the South to obtain a rating of “Superior Meat Sire’’ for a boar. On November 17, Cbx put 15 offsprings of his herd boar Tam raima Designer 2nd in a feed lot to themselves. These hogs were weighed in by County Agent J. R. Franck and are being fed under the supervision of Cox’s feed deal er, Clif Barbee of Richlands who has a lock on the hog feeder and the only key. In order to qualify their sire for the rating of “Superior Meat Sire” Lenoir County Host District Meeting 14th County commissioners, accoun tants, attorneys, and other county officials from 14 North Carolina counties are scheduled to attend a district meeting in Kinston on Wednesday, December 14. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in the Lenoir County Courthouse, and it will last until mid-after noon. The counties scheduled to Craven, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, attend include Beaufort, Carteret, Pamlico, Pitt, Edgecombe, Hali fax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, and Wayne. The district meeting is sponsored by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, and county commissioners of Lenoir County are making the local ar rangements. Alex McMahon, the Association’s General Counsel, will discuss legislation of interest to county officials likely to come be fore the 1961 General Assembly. A number of counties are planning to bring their legislators to join in this discussion. Attention will also be given to problems of county finance, and the sources of funds available to finance expanding county activi ties. Particular attention will be given to the possibility of increas ed state aid and the possibility of new kinds of county taxes. Finally, there will be a general discussion period which will be of particular interest to new county officials. these 15 must meet rigid feed efficiency and carcass grade re quirements. Here Jon*s County's New Regls ler of Deed* WHIiam D. "Bill" Parker is seen Monday morijinB taking the oath of his office from Superior Court Clerk Murray : ■ . ’ ^ " :-"" ' • i Whitaker. Parker defeated the in cumbent, Mr*. Darrl* W. Koonce, in a very close race last spring and was elected without opposition hi the November ,8H* general elec tion. , v : "robbing the taxpayers". The new board exhibited its naivety on the subject of firing County Attorney George Hughbs ami hiring Donald Brock to take his place.. Since the spring—when it was made a major campaign issue—at least some if not all of these newcomers has labored un der the misapprehension that Hughes was overpaid. One basis for this was a bulletin from the Institute of Government which listed retainers paid county at torneys over the state. These young men were alarmed to learn that the retainer for Le noir County Attor. ey Tom White was $1200, while Hughes' retainer was $1800. They assumed that this was salary, rather than retainer. . > In actuality. White has been paid something between $7,000 and I $3,000 per year as Lenoir County | attorney, while Hughes has never | billed the county for services above I his $1800 retainer. The new boferd had every right in the world to fire Hughes and hire Brock, but they should have had a better reason, or excuse than |tfie> salary mixup. Commissioner Haddock was somewhat taken a back when Attorney Brock refused to agree to take the job at "not to exceed $1200". In the spring Haddock had a lawyer who would take the job "for half of what Hughes is getting". Haddock has already found that every seed that is planted in the spring does not give fruit in the fall. The parting comments of outgo ing Chairman John W. Creagh Jr. should be a constant reminder to the new board of the high respon sibility they have inherited in handling the biggest business in Jones County. Creagh reminded the new board members that they are taking over a county that is in excellent finan cial condition—a situation that surely did not exist 12 years ago when Creagh first came on the board. Creagh also reminded them of what he called the "foolhardy" effort outgoing Commissioner D. A. Jones to raise the tax listed valuation of all property in the county, which would serve no purpose, since it is rate multiplied by valuation that fixes the coun ty's revenues from taxation. These young men will be under very careful scrutiny as they set about their work as county com missioners. They have already found on their first day in office that they couldn't keep even such a simple campaign promise as cutting the pay of the county at torney. As time moves on they will find themselves bound by other circum stances that will separate "want ing to" from “doing". Although The Journal deplores the messy way the change of coun ty attorneys was made, we surely recognize the right—almost duty of this board to employ counsel with which it can work in har mony, and if they felt that politi cal considerations had made it impossible for them to get along with Hughes they should have gotten a new attorney. However, Brock occupies an extremely pre carious position since he wes em ployed on a 3-2 vote, which gives him very little room in which to maneuver. Let all Jones Countians who are interested in good government join in helping this new board in every reasonable way; not by exercising even the seme kind of narrow and unfounded suspicions that they themselves may have been guilty of, but by supporting them'when they are right and by letting them knew very quickly and very blunt ly when they are out of Ikie. That will certainly be the role played by The Journal.
Jones County Journal (Trenton, N.C.)
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Dec. 8, 1960, edition 1
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