'Mf
K
) JV
■ "«*
' •■'f m
M;' 'vit
K*
KE'-:;,,'. TJ-tt
TRENTON, N, C, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1662
■.• ■" '• ’•>• ■
VOLUME XIV
sating Puts
and Other
A' fight between two farin day
laborers on the Alonzo MiHs (arm
of Western Jones County has put
. one of the participants in jail on
a charge of assault with a deadly
weapon with intent to kill and the
other in Duke Hospital with a
fractured skull and a broken jaw
bone.
F. R. Murphy is i^ jail and Lee'
Hall is in the hospital.
Sheriff Brown Yates said the
fight took place Saturday after
noon, and he has not been able to
find just exactly what started the
fight, which ended when Murphy
beat 12 gauge shotgun into splint
ers and bent steel over the fane
. and head of HaTL
Murphy ha9 been release under
, bond pending trial of the charges
at the- next term of Superior Court.
Correction
la last weak’* Journal it wai
reported that Robert Mattocks had
been name to another 3-year term
on the J|ones- County Board of
Public Welfare. This story was in
error and should have read that
County Commissioner Eugene
Simpson had been named to the
board to replace Mattocks, wh|o
was not eligible for reappointment
since under North Carolina law a
person may not serve more than
two Consecutive terms on a county
Welfare board. The state welfare
board names one me m b e r, the
county board of commissioners a
second member and these two
members select the third member
of their board. ^ ?
EDITORIAL
A Jones County Problem
There are possibly as many different opinions in Jones County as
there are adults who think about the problem created by the flooding
of Trent River.
These opinions range from that of the person whose property has
been badly httrt by recent repeated floodings, to that of the person whose
property is nowhere near the Trent River Valley.
The first fellow is convinced that an immediate all-out effort should
be made to correct the problem, and the second fellow can see no good
treason why his tax rate should be,increased to solve a nnoblem thatjppaa,
Trent River has the job of draining a major portion of Jones County,
and as such it becomes something more than a boundary ditch in which
only the abutting property owners have an interest and a responsibility.
Because of its size Trent River quite obviously is beyond the limits of
private, ®r even district drainage planning and financing.
This forces the conclusion that some branch of government must take
action, or see the abandonment of many thousands of acres of land and
a drastic cut in the tax listed valuation of the county.
Just as there is difference of opinion among Jones Countians on this
problem; there is for the same reason and in the same ratio a great
difference of opinion nationally on what the approach to such problems
should be.
And President Lincoln put into wordsmore than a hundred years ago the
only practical philosphy in such instances: “That government should
do for the people those things that they cannot reasonably do for them
selves.”
Since the State of North Carolina does not involve itself in such
problems, leaving them strictly to local or federal agencies, the problem
then falls into the laps of either the Jones County Board of Commission
ers or the Army Corps of Engineers, which is the federal agency charged
with work in this sphere.
The Engineers say that late 1965 is the earliest possible time that
any actual work on the Trent River Valley can be expected, and the
Engineers point out that there are a great many "if, ands and buts“ that
have to be cleared even before that can come true.
This leaves Jones Countians with two alternatives: One; to take
upon themselves the heavy responsibility of financing the control, or
elimination of this flooding or two, to wait for federal action.
If Jones Countains, through their elective representatives, decide to
wait for federal assistance it may force property owners In the worst hit
areas to lease or buy other land that will permit them to transfer their
tobacco crop to land that is not subject to flooding.
In the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in the
crop coverage in Jones County by the Federal Crop Insurance Corpora
tion, and this has given some measure of protection to those farmers
who have participated. But there is growing danger that FCIC insurance
might be withdrawn from those farms that have experienced repeated
loss from flooding.
DRUNKENNESS CHARGES
During the past week Ear! Smith
Trenton and Walter Mattocks
Maysville were each booked by
sheriff’s department on charges
of public drunkenness. .A
ric CHARGES
Komegay of Dover route 1
rested by the Highway Pa
ring the past week on charg
MARINE GROUNDED
Camp Lejeune Marine Douglas
Ray Van Dam was booked in Kins
ton Thursday night on charges of
speeding, driving without a driving
license, running a red light and
driving a car with • an improper
PAPERHANGER?
Patrolman Gets Car,
But Man Gets Away
Highway Patrolman Bert Mercer
Saturday night between Trenton
and Jones Central High School
captured a 1951 Ford with 60 jars
of stumphole whisky aboard, but
the driver of the car took to the
woods and left Mercer far behind.
The car was registered to Ern
est King Wingate Mitchell of
Hookerton route 1, but Mitchell
has not made any claim, nor re
ported the vehicle as stolen. It is
still being held, pending confisica
tion procedures.
Mercer said the car driver saw
his patrol car, stopped in orderly
fashion, got out and flew. Mercer
said he recognized there was no
point in him trying to beat the man
in a cross-cotmtry race.
Maysville Man Booked
On Duplin Indictment
Wiley Morgan of Maysville was
arrested this week on a warrant
from Duplin County, that charged
him with embezzlement.
Sheriff Brown Yates said there
was some kind of a mixup over
money collected as payment on or
/or repairs to sewing machines, but
Yates said it is his understanding
-that the whole mess had been
straightened out on Tuesday.
APPEALS LIGHT SENTENCE
Robert Summerlin Jr. of Pink Hill
route 2 appealed a very light sen
tence girbn him Tuesday by Re
corder- Emmett, Wos(ten. Wooten
remandecf a $25 fine imposed on
the young man for reckless driving
on condition that he attend a driv
er improvement clinic.
Late ’65 Earliest Date
For Federal Help With
Trent River Flooding
Congressman David Henderson t
has asked Jones County Board off
Commissioners Chairman Nelson |
Banks, to arrange a meeting of all
interested parties for a conference
with representatives of the Army
Corps of Engineers on the flood
ing of the Trent River Valley.
, The letter following here was
received by Congressman Hender
son this week from the district
commander of the Engineers, and
it outlines the situation clearly as
it stands at this time, insofar, as
the Engineers are concerned.
Dear Mr. Henderson:
Reference is made to your leter
of 13 July 1962 regarding flooding
of the Trent River. In this letter
you asked three specific questions.
Your first q ue s t i o n concerned
“The status of the current study
and how soon action can be ex
pected to come from it." In our
letter of 6 November 1961 we ex- '
plained that it was not feasible to
study a flood control project for
the Trent River under the author
ity of Public Law 685 because the
estimated cost far exceeds $400,000,
and that, in view of this, we pro
posed to include the Trent River
study as a part of the previously
authorized Neuse River Basin
study. Projects developed and just
ified under this study will have no
cost limitation and will require no
local participation. The Neuse Riv
er Basin study is being vigorously
pursued. In fact, we have six en
gineers, representing about 40 per-'
cent of our total study capability,
assigned to this one study. Flood
damage surveys along the Neuse
River have been completed, and
similar surveys for the Trent Riv
er and other tributaries are sched
uled to begin in August 1962. The
Neuse River Basin study is sched
uled to be completed during the
first quarter of fiscal year 1964.
The report covering this study will
Mrs. America Visiting
Kinston This Weekend
Mrs. America of 1962 will visit
Kinston this weekend for a whirl
wind of activities climaxed Sunday
when she will be official hostess for
builder Carl W. Johnson and
Wlright Homes at the opening of
Johnson’s new, $1,250,000 commun
ity, Centennial Arms, Northeast of
Kinston.
The Nation’s Number One Home
maker is pretty, auburn-haired Lila
Masson from Detroit. She’s 39 and
the mother of three — Diane, 17;
Thomas, 12, and David, 8. Her
husband, Cleve, is Group Operating
Manager for Sears Roebuck in
Detroit.
Mrs. Masson arrives in Raleigh
Friday afternoon and will be flown
by ISO charter plane to Kinston
airport where she will be welcomed
to Kinston by Mayor Guy Elliot.
On Saturday morning she will
visit the Dupont plant.
At noon Saturday, Mrs. Masson
will tee off the first green at the
Kinston Country Club to open the
Mrs. America Woman’s Golf
Tournament. Saturday evening, she
will be the guest of honor at a
special reception held at the coun
try club.
Highlight of Mrs. America’s vis
it to Kinston will be a personal
appearance' Sunday afternoon from
one until dark when she will act
as special hostess at four model
homes in Centennial Amts.
Mrs. Masson became “Mrs.
America” last November in Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida competing
against SI other finalists represent
ing each state, Alaska, Hawaii, and
the District of Columbia.
She was chosen by a board of
nationally-known home economics
and personality experts, and was
judged on her all-round homemak
ing abilities as well as personality,
charm, poise, good grooming, and
community activities.
Since being crowned, she has
traveled more than 100,000 miles
appearing at women’s clubs, home
builders’ conventions, homemaking
exhibitions — constantly champion
ing the ever increasing importance
of the American homemaker.
Mrs. America is sponsored na
tionally by the Johns - Manville
Corporation, manufacturer of qual
ity building materials; by Wright
Homes of Durham; and locally, by
Carl W. Johnson a Wright builder
dealer.
include a proposed ■ plan for flood
protection along the Trent River
with an estimate of costs and ben
efits.
The second question in your let
ter concerned our opinion as to
whether or not a snagging and
clearing project on the Trent River
would alleviate the kind of flood
damage suffered this year. It is our
opinion that a snagging and clear
ing project would not afford ap
preciable protection from flood
conditions similar to those recent
ly experienced.
Your third question asked our
opinion as to what type of project
would be required and procedures
involved in getting such a project
accomplished. Based on preliminary
observations, it appears that rath
er extensive channel improvement,
in addition to stream clearing,
would be required to give a worthy
degree of flood protection. The
feasibility of developing such a pro
ject is being investigated as a part
of the Neuse River Basin study,
and we do not believe that it would
be practicable or desirable to re
quest authorization for a separate
study of the Trent River Basin.
First, it is a policy to combine
studies whenever practicable; and
second, no time could be saved by
the separation, since the Trent
study would then have to be spec
ifically authorized by Congress,
funded separately, and justified
solely on its own merits and not
as an element of the overall de
velopment of the Neuse River Ba
sin.
The Trent River Basin is one of
many areas in eastern North Caro
lina that is badly in need of flood
protection. Where projects can be
justified under Public Law 685, it
is possible to get a project under
construction within two years af
ter the study is authorized. If,
however, the project is not eligilbe
for consideration under Public Law
685, a study must be specifically
authorized by Congress and, as you
know, many additional steps are re
quired in procedure. The report
must be reviewed by the Board of
Engineers for Rivers and Harbors
and the Bureau of the Budget prior
to being submitted to Congress.
The project must then be author
ized by Congress and specifically
funded under a regular Civil Works
Appropriation Act. These addition
al Steps usually require two or more
years. Therefore, we normally ex
pect that at least two years will
elapse between the time that a re
port is submitted and the project
is funded for construction. Using
this line of reasoning and assuming
that a project can be justified for
the Trent River, the earliest con
struction starting date would be
late in calendar year 1965.
I would like very much to meet
with you and local citizens at any
time which meets your convenience
to discuss this matter more fully.
If by some unforeseeable circum
stance I am unable to attend, I
will send a qualified representative.
I will also be glad to furnish any
additional information that you
may need.
Sincerely yours,
J. S. GRYGIEL
Colonel, Corps of Engineers
District Engineer
'Out Tuesday,
In Sunday
William Gibbs, whose Kinston
address is 521 Fields Street, was
discharged last Tuesday from the
state prison department, after
serving a 3-to-5 year term for
forgery. Sunday Gibbs was picked
up by Kinston Police who had war
rants charging him with forgery of
two checks on the account of
(Robert Jackson of Kington.
■ C,